Ghost of You
by BonitaBreezy
Summary: Sora's spent the last year dealing with the trauma of Riku's death...but what happens when he gets sent back to do it again? Can he save the person he loves or will he be forced to watch him die...again. SoRiku
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: El videojuego de Kingdom Hearts 2 no es mio

A/N: Yeah…my muse CD for this fic was The Chronicles of Life and Death by Good Charlotte. Go figure. Also, you might notice, but I've made the characters quite a bit older for this fic. They're all somewhere about their mid-twenties. Warning: Boy love, yadda-yadda, you know the drill. Enjoy

Disclaimer: El videojuego de Kingdom Hearts 2 no es mio. Song lyrics belong to Good Charlotte.

"A ghost of you is all that I have left

_All that I have left of you to hold_

_I wake in the night to find there's no one there but me_

_And nothing left of what we were at all."_

_-Ghost of You, Good Charlotte_

Prologue

"Riku, come on! Smile for the camera!"

Deep laughter. "Sora, get it out of my face." The screen was jostled, flashing the TV screen in the room, the fireplace, a red couch.

"Nope, not until you smile!" It flashed back to his face, turquoise eyes sparkling in pale skin, the smallest of smirks alighting that flawless face, long silver hair framing it all.

Sora paused the video, looking into that perfect face. He had to choke back a sob. He didn't know why he kept doing this to himself. It only hurt him, yet he continued to do it. It was like…feeling the pain reminded him that he was still there, still alive, even if he didn't necessarily want to be.

He jumped when the phone started ringing and there was a slamming on the door at the same time. He shrank back into the chair, Riku's chair, and tried to block out the noise. There was the sound of a key scraping against a lock and the door opened. There was a curse and the light flipped on, making Sora blink rapidly, trying to adjust. Then his twin stood framed in the doorway.

"Sora," he sighed, taking a few steps into the room. His eyes flickered to the TV screen before he approached Sora, cowering in the armchair. The blonde snatched the remote of the armrest and flipped the TV off, shattering that perfect image.

"So," Sora flinched. That was _his_ nickname. No one else's. "You can't keep doing this to yourself," Roxas murmured. "He's dead, So. It's been almost a year…you have to let it go."

Sora glared, eyes flashing angrily. "I can't just let it go," he spat. "I loved him. If you were in my place…if it was Axel…could you just let it go?" Roxas glanced away and they were both quiet for a long time.

Sora knew that he was tearing himself apart, but it seemed to be the only thing he could do. Was he supposed to just let it go, move on and forget everything? That would be a disservice to him and he wasn't going to do that.

Finally, Roxas shrugged. "I don't know, Sora. I suppose I couldn't just move on right away, but it's been almost a year now. Of course I would never forget him, never stop loving him…but I wouldn't barricade myself away from the people who love me, the people who could help me heal. Axel would want me to be happy and I know that Riku wants you to be happy, too. Because he loved you." Roxas' arms reached up and grabbed Sora's shoulders. He hadn't allowed anyone to touch him in such a long time that it felt strange. Roxas tugged and Sora allowed himself to fall forward into his brother's arms. He hugged his twin tightly, burying his face in Roxas' shoulder. Roxas didn't say a word, but rubbed Sora's back in big, soothing circles. Sora cried, but that wasn't too surprising. He spent a lot of his time crying these days.

"Come on Sora…how about we get you up to bed?" he whispered. Sora didn't even bother trying to protest as Roxas helped him to his feet and started toward the stairs. He leaned against his brother as they reached the top, as he was brought into his room. He only stopped when Roxas laid him down. There were footsteps on the stairs and he could vaguely hear another voice whispering. A hand stroked his hair and blue eyes stared into his own.

"We'll be downstairs if you need us okay, Sora?" He barely nodded before slipping into unconsciousness. The eyes haunted his dreams.

--

A/N: Yup…so this first chapter is short. It's supposed to be, because it's just a prologue… I got this idea while watching Premonition, but it's NOT the same storyline, because in all honesty, I thought the movie sucked big time. Still, the plot bunnies were born and now they're stabbing my brain with a spork and it's actually quite painful so I'm writing. I've even thought of an algebraic formula for it. VampyreQueen (16) + 1 bad movie + 1 tiny A-frame cabin + one stepdad (45), one step sister (15), one step brother(21), one step-nephew(18 months), and one bio-brother (22) + laptop + obsession with KH2 A fanfiction about someone dead. What does that tell you about my family?


	2. Talking with Axel

Disclaimer: El videojuego de Kingdom Hearts 2 no es mio.

Warning: Rated T for language, innuendos, and boyloves. :D

Chapter 1

It was nearly two in the afternoon when Sora woke up. The sun was streaming mercilessly through the windows and directly into his face. He took a moment to stare at the empty spot next to him in longing.

There was a crash from downstairs, followed by a soft curse. The night before flashed through his memories and he let out a small sigh.

Pulling himself out of bed and out of his room, he started down the hall. He momentarily wondered if he should change, but dismissed the idea when he realized he would only be seen by family and that he really didn't care that much anyway.

"Roxas?" he called for his twin, wondering what had been broken. When he received no reply, he tried his brother-in-law instead. "Axel? Are you here?"

Roxas and Axel were newly married, only about six or seven months in. They'd first met at Sora's own wedding, and though Roxas had originally denied it, sparks flew the moment they set eyes on each other. They'd only dated for a few months before they decided to take the plunge, but it seemed to be working well for them.

Axel poked his head around the corner, the brilliant red of his hair making Sora momentarily blink in shock. It was still kind of hard to get used to.

"Hey Sora!" he greeted cheerfully. "Feeling better this morning?"

Sora shrugged. "Not really." Axel frowned for a moment before his grin picked up again.

"Roxas went shopping," the redhead said conversationally.

"Shopping?" The word seemed strange in his mouth.

Axel smirked. "Yeah…shopping…you know, that thing where you go to the store and buy things to sustain your life?" he paused, looking thoughtful. "I suppose it's possible that you might've forgotten. From the looks of things, you haven't bought any food since Riku…" he trailed off, casting a sidelong glance at Sora as if worried he might have set the brunet off. When Sora didn't say anything, he straightened up and continued. "Anyway, the only thing you had in your fridge was baking soda. I didn't know people actually put baking soda in their refrigerators. What's it supposed to do?"

Sora shrugged. "Riku put it there," he offered as an answer. Axel nodded slowly. "Right."

Sora could tell the redhead was uncomfortable with his lack of attempts at conversation. He felt a bit bad about it, but he was stuck in a funk and he couldn't just pull himself out of it.

"You don't have to, you know," he said quietly. Axel perked up slightly at an actual completed sentence, even though he looked confused at the subject matter. Sora turned and focused his eyes on the pool in the backyard. The water was clean, which was surprising considering the fact that Sora hadn't even entered the backyard in a few months. He figured his twin was behind it somehow.

"Don't have to what?" Axel asked, eyebrows drawn in confusion.

"You don't have to try and force a conversation with me. I know I'm not the best person to talk to anymore. I'll tell Roxas that you tried." Axel's confused look turned to one of anger.

"You think I'm sitting here pulling teeth trying to get you to talk to me because Roxas wants me to?" he demanded, leaning back against the countertop and glaring. Sora blinked, now the one confused.

"Aren't you?"

Axel let out an exasperated sigh, running a hand through his spiky crimson locks. "No, Sora. I'm trying to talk to you because you're my friend, my brother. I'm just as worried about you as Roxas is. That, and Riku would kick my ass from here to hell if he knew I was letting you wallow away in depression." Sora blinked a few times in shock. He hadn't known Axel really cared about him so much. He knew the redhead was a nice enough guy, but he wouldn't have imagined that he thought of Sora as his brother.

Faced with this fact, all he could think of to say was "sorry". It didn't seem like quite enough, but Axel took the apology gracefully.

They were both silent for a very long time after that. Sora continued to watch the water in the pool and Axel leaned his head back against a cabinet, staring at the ceiling. It was a good half hour before Axel let out a low chuckle, turning his head back to look at Sora.

"Do you remember when we were helping you two move in here?" he asked. Sora nodded mutely.

"Riku was so damn excited, even though he absolutely refused to show it. He broke a hole in the ceiling when we were carrying your bed up there because he wouldn't stop jittering." Axel laughed again, a lazy smile overtaking his face. Sora did remember that. Riku had been so sheepish, but it hadn't taken much to patch up the hole.

"When we painted our room," Sora started, "first of all, we just couldn't agree on a color. We finally settled on blue because we both liked it well enough." Axel listened attentively and Sora laughed at the memory. "I was painting around the top because I was being stubborn. So there I was, on the ladder with the paint tin on the top step. Riku was keeping the ladder straight, griping at me because I wouldn't let him do the top. I can't remember why, really," Sora said thoughtfully. "Well I, being the clumsy person that I am, knocked the paint tin down off the top step and it landed all over him. His hair was blue for a week."

Axel laughed. "Oh, I'll bet he was pissed." Sora nodded, remembering that cute pout that Riku would sometimes adopt, though he always insisted it wasn't a pout. "Men don't pout!" he'd argue.

"Yeah," Sora nodded. "He was pissed. He wouldn't talk to me for three days." Roxas hadn't completely refused to talk about Riku since his death, but it was still strange to think of his late husband and laugh. Maybe it was knowing that Axel had been just as close, maybe more, to Riku as Sora had been.

"He was always such a bitch about his hair," Axel sighed with a grin. "When I first met him, we were rooming together in college. I just wanted to see what he'd do…so one night during the spring semester I dyed his hair pink." Sora's jaw dropped at just imaging what Riku would have done to him. "Dyeing hair is quite a process, you know, and he slept through the whole thing. I was really impressed."

"What did he do to you?" Sora asked eagerly. Axel laughed and shook his head. "Oh hell. When he woke up, at first he tried to kill me, but I managed to avoid him until he had to get to class. I made the mistake of falling asleep. When I woke up, I was hanging upside down out our window by a rope tied to my ankles. Naked." Sora laughed, possibly his first real laugh in a long time.

"How long did he leave you there for?" he gasped through his laughter.

"Long enough to take a shower in a desperate attempt and realize I'd used temporary dye. He then left me there until he washed his hair enough times to get it all out. Still, it was worth it, considering his hair had a faint pink tint to it for the rest of the year," Axel said wistfully. The more Sora thought about his late husband, the more the smile faded away, until finally he was left with a slight frown. Axel looked at him, knowing the problem without even having to ask. Still, Sora spoke aloud anyway.

"I miss him," he sighed.

"Me too," Axel agreed.

"Do you ever think about getting the band back together?" Sora asked quietly. He wasn't sure why he had asked, but he'd just had this sudden compulsion to know.

Axel's eyebrows quirked and then he shook his head. "I did, once or twice, but I always come to the same conclusion. It just wouldn't be the same without Riku." Sora nodded to show that he understood.

Riku had been in a band with Axel and three of their other friends. They'd been really famous and really good. They'd taken a year's hiatus just after Riku and Sora had gotten married. It was their return concert, the night that Riku died. The very next day, they'd announced their break-up and that was it. The end of the Organization. The band lived on in four of its members, the fans, and the multi-platinum records hanging in Riku's music room, but mostly, it lived on in Sora's nightmares.

"He certainly had an astounding vocal range. I don't think we could get anyone who sang that well if we wanted to," Axel said thoughtfully. "What can I say? The boy had a gift." Sora didn't know if he might have said something, because right as Axel finished his sentence, his cell phone rang. The redhead dug the phone out of his pocket, and flipped it open with a snap of his wrist.

"Hey, what's up?" A smile spread over his face and Sora knew instantly that it was Roxas on the phone. No one else could make Axel smile like that. He politely ignored the conversation going on in front of him, returning his gaze to the swimming pool. Maybe he would go in there tomorrow. He'd basically avoided it over the last year because it had really been Riku's pool. That had been his condition on their house. It had to have a pool and that was all he cared about.

"Love you, too." Axel closed his phone, toying with it in his hands. "That was Roxas. He says to get ready to go because he's decided on a whim that he's taking us out to eat." Sora shrugged, turning back toward the stairs. He was almost halfway up when he stopped.

"Axel!" he called.

"What's up?" the redhead called back.

"Thanks…for talking to me."  
There was a moment of silence and then Axel's reply. "No problem. Any time."

Sora made his way upstairs, preparing for the worst. It was hell every time he went in public, considering that the media was under the impression that Sora was a celebrity. No, he was the widow of a celebrity, which actually made it so much worse. He couldn't go out without being hounded by at least one person with a camera. It was definitely going to be a long day if Roxas was determined to get him out of the house. He headed toward the bathroom to prepare for daylong torture.

--

A/N: Yeah…so that whole conversation with Axel? You know the one that was like…five pages long and made up the entire chapter? I totally didn't plan that at all, it sort of just happened. Sora and Axel were fighting me for it so I had to let it happen, otherwise everything would have been forced and gross. Okalie Dokalie, peoples. We're rooting for ten reviews before we update again!


	3. Five Minutes Too Late

A/N: I've decided to post one more chapter, even tho I only got half my required reviews. I got 71 views and five reviews and I know you guys can do better then that. This is the only time I will be lenient, though. I know how the story ends, so it's no skin off my back.

Disclaimer: El videojuego de Kingdom Hearts 2 no es mio.

Chapter 2

_Sora watched from the side of the stage, still in wonder after all the time they'd spent together. Riku's voice had taken on a throaty growl as he sang, jumping around the stage with so much energy, his hand reaching out to touch people in the audience. He turned his back to them, moving his body with the beat. _

_Sora was tantalized as he watched Riku approach Axel, the redhead leaning into the singer so they could share the mike he held. Roxas let out a tiny whimper next to Sora, who laughed and took his twin's hand. Sometimes he still couldn't believe his luck. That silver-haired god on stage was all his. The people in the crowd could wish and fantasize, but Sora got the truth. Sora knew, first hand._

"_I've got to get away from the stage before something really embarrassing happens," Roxas breathed, pulling his hand out of Sora's grasp and scurrying away. _

_He laughed, turning his eyes back to the stage and the laughter died in his throat. Riku, who was still singing and moving, had managed to catch his eyes. The bright turquoise, brought out even more by the thick, black kohl framing them, was impossible to look away from. It lasted all of three seconds, but it felt like an eternity before Riku smirked and turned away and Sora could breathe properly again. He smiled and continued to watch all the way to the end. When it did finally come to an end, Riku came off the stage grinning and adrenaline rushed._

"_Damn, I forgot how amazing that feels!" he exclaimed excitedly, claiming Sora's lips in a heated kiss. Sora didn't complain one bit, at least not until Riku's arms moved to wrap around him. He then wrinkled his nose and firmly pushed Riku away._

"_Ew, you're all sweaty and gross," he complained._

"_You love it!" Riku teased._

"_Under some circumstances, I'll admit I don't mind. On the other hand, when I'm clean and you're not, it's just not as fun," Sora sighed mock-seriously. Riku sent him a wicked grin and pulled Sora against his chest. The brunet shuddered as Riku's lips brushed his ear._

"_We can fix that," he whispered. Sora had to fight down the urge to jump him._

"_Ri-ku!" he whined. "Not here! Wait until we get home!"_

_Riku laughed once more, claiming a kiss and heading back toward the dressing room where he could catch a shower._

"_I'll get you at home then!" he called over his shoulder. Sora laughed and set off in search of his twin. When he found him, he somewhat wished he hadn't. Axel had him pinned to the couch in the dressing room and Roxas didn't seem to mind at all that he was sweaty. If anything, he was pulling the redhead tighter against him. It was a bit difficult to tell where one ended and the other began, with how close they were._

_Sora looked at them mischievously before walking over to the fridge and grabbing out a bottle of water. It was so cold there will little bits of ice floating in it. Perfect. He unscrewed the cap and, with much gusto, dumped it over Axel's head. The redhead jerked away from Roxas with an undignified scream. Sora burst into laughter as Axel glared at him, his sopping wet mane of hair and the dark makeup around his eyes making him look strangely feral._

"_What the hell was that for?" he growled. Sora was too hysterical to be scared._

"_It was an impromptu…cold shower!" He gasped around his laughter. "Keep it in your pants, would you? If me and Riku can wait until we get home, then so can you!" Roxas looked a mix between annoyed and amused and Axel let out a growl of annoyance before getting off of Roxas and heading back to take a shower._

"_Damn it, Sora!" he yelled as he opened the door to the bathroom. "I'll get my revenge, I swear!" Sora just waved him off and sat on the couch next to his brother._

"_I thought you were running away so nothing embarrassing would happen?" he grinned._

"_Yeah, well…" Roxas mumbled. "It seems that Axel was really interested in bringing up the source of my imminent embarrassment." Sora laughed, leaning his head back against the back of the couch and staring at the ceiling._

"_Man, Rox, in two days time we are gonna be a pathetic pair, you and I." Roxas let out a sigh. "I know. Six months. What are we gonna do without them for sixth months?"_

"_Wallow in self pity together?" Sora suggested. Roxas laughed._

"_Yeah, that's probably about right. What are you gonna do on his last day here? I haven't really decided yet…"_

_Sora grinned impishly. "Well…let's just say, that if I have my way, Riku won't be leaving our bedroom at all tomorrow." Roxas laughed and an identical wicked grin spread across his face._

"_That, my brother, does not sound like a bad idea. Not at all." Sora didn't have a chance to reply before the bathroom door opened and Riku came out. His wet hair was pulled into a low ponytail, his face scrubbed clean of make-up, and he wore a simple pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt. He approached the couch and slipped on a pair of flip-flops. He then made his way to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water._

"_Ready to go home, So?" he asked, offering his hand to the brunet. Sora grinned and took the offered appendage, pulling himself to his feet._

"_I'll call you on Tuesday, okay Roxas?" His blonde counterpart nodded and waved. As they made their way outside and past security, Riku moved his arm around Sora's shoulders instead of grasping his hand. Sora smiled and settled against his side, wrapping his own arm around Riku's waist and bunching his hand in the material of his shirt. Riku laughed._

"_Love you, So."_

"_I love you, too."_

_There was a scream of excitement from somewhere to their left and they were suddenly confronted by a girl who looked to be somewhere around seventeen._

"_Oh my god, you're Riku Silver, aren't you?" she gushed. Riku smiled calmly and nodded._

"_That would be me." She let out an excited squeal and then turned to Sora, who was actually a bit shocked. The fans usually ignored him, which was perfectly all right with him._

"_You're Sora, right?" At his weak nod, she squealed again. "Oh, you're so much cuter in person!" Riku chuckled._

"_What can we do for you…?"_

"_Kaitlyn!" she supplied. "Would you take a picture with me?"_

"_You mind, So?" he asked. Sora shook his head and held his hand out for the camera._

"_Do your thing, superstar," he teased. After the picture was taken, an autograph signed, and explicit directions on how to get to Axel's car were given (just because Riku enjoyed harassing the redhead), they started on their walk again. They'd barely made it five steps when another voice called out, this one male. Riku glanced apologetically at Sora, who didn't really mind, before turning to look at the man. He was tall, about Riku's height. He was dressed completely in black and had a bandana tied around the lower half of his face and a hat on. He stretched out a hand, which Riku reached to shake automatically. As soon as their hands touched, he was jerked roughly forward and then Riku let out a strange gasp and then a strangled yell. The man shoved him away and took off running down the street. Sora rushed to his lover, who had stumbled back a couple steps and was now wobbling in place._

"_Riku? What happened?" Riku turned to look at him before collapsing. Sora gasped and caught him on reflex, lowering him gently to the ground. It was then that he saw that Riku was clutching his side and that his shirt was quickly becoming stained red with blood._

"_Oh, shit!" Sora gasped. "Oh shit!"_

_He pulled out his cell phone, fingers fumbling on the buttons as he called 911._

"_Where are you and what's the problem?" the operator asked._

"_Um…I'm outside the arena…Hollow Bastion Arena. My friend just got stabbed and he's bleeding really badly…"_

"_An ambulance will be there shortly."_

_Sora snapped his phone shut, dropping it on the ground next to him, and worked on shifting Riku so his head was in Sora's lap. The brunet pressed his hands tightly against the wound. Pressure helped stop bleeding, right?_

"_So," Riku murmured, sounding strangely detached. "So, I love you."_

_Sora half hiccupped, half sobbed. "I love you, too, Ri. Just…hold on, okay? The paramedics will be here soon and they'll help…"_

_The efforts were for naught. Three minutes later, Riku murmured, "Sorry, So." He died in Sora's arms with these last words. The ambulance arrived five minutes later._

The loud sound of the television on downstairs nearly made Sora jump out of his skin as he was rudely awakened. He was going to kill Roxas. After being dragged around (and followed) all day yesterday, he was seriously ready to just be alone. He'd told his twin that the night before and he'd promised to go home! So what was he doing here now, turning the television up to an earth-shattering volume, no less? Sora groaned and rolled out of bed, a little surprised to see that he was wearing Riku's favorite gray t-shirt. When had he worked up the nerve to rifle through Riku's clothes, let alone wear something of his? It still smelled like him. Sora clutched the hem between his fingers, feeling the soft cotton as if that would make him closer to Riku. He started down the stairs, stalking into the living room and turning off the TV.

"Roxas?" he called for his twin. His only answer was a splashing noise from the backyard. Was Roxas in the pool? He slid the glass door open and stepped out onto the back porch. There was definitely someone in the pool, but he couldn't see who from where he was standing. He went down the steps, crossing towards the sparkling water. Just as he reached the edge of the pool, the swimmer popped above the water and grinned at him.

"Hey, So. Finally awake, are you? Good. How about you come join me?"

Sora fainted.

--

A/N: heh heh…cliffhangers are fun. So… showers in the dressing rooms. Probably not, but just bear with me, people. 10 reviews, guys, you can do it! I believe in you!


	4. Hold Me

A/N: Hey there friends. I just wanted to make a comment to someone who gave me an unsigned review that I couldn't reply to. Seraph, you have every right to not review because you think asking for reviews is wrong, as I have the right to ask for a certain amount of reviews before updating. As a writer, I don't like it when fifty people read but only three people review. It just seems, to me, that it's common courtesy to review after you read because it only takes an extra minute or so. I don' know where you're from, but here in the US we have the right say what we will. I'm not mad at you for chewing me out in a review, what I'm angry about is the fact that you sent it to me unsigned so I couldn't form a rebuttal explaining my views. I find that cowardly. I don't know if you're reading this or if you ever will, but I've had my say and I'm ready to lay this to rest. I will continue to ask for reviews before updating.

Disclaimer: El videojuego de Kingdom Hearts 2 no es mio.

Chapter 3

"Sora? So, are you all right?"

Sora opened his eyes, vaguely aware that he was completely soaked. This was forgotten completely, though, when he saw the turquoise eyes above him.

"Riku?" he gasped, bringing a hand up to rub at his eyes, not quite believing what he saw.

"You know, So, when I said you should join me, I meant after you changed out of your pajamas…and while you were conscious, at that," he said dryly.

"No!" Sora said loudly, suddenly gathering his bearings.

"No?" Riku questioned.

"NO!" Sora exclaimed. "You're not here!"

"I'm…not?" He looked so confused. He reached to touch Sora's arm, but the brunet jerked away.

"Don't touch me!"

Riku looked hurt. "Sora…I don't understand. What's wrong?"

"You shouldn't be here! I'm…hallucinating or something! Why are you here?" the hysterical brunet demanded.

"Uh…So…I live here. Shit, did you hit your head when you fainted? Should I call the doctor…?"

"No! That's just it! You don't live here! Because you're dead!" Riku's eyes widened and his hand came to rest on Sora's forehead.

"You died!" Sora was close to tears now. "I saw it! I held you in my arms and you died! July 15, 2007! That's when you died." Riku shook his head.

"You mean…I died five days from now?" This question hit Sora like a sucker punch to the gut.

"F-five days from now?" he stuttered. Riku nodded, stroking his wet bangs away from his face.

"It's…2007?" Sora asked breathlessly. Again, he nodded.

"It was just a dream, So. A bad dream." His voice was soft and consoling.

Reality hit Sora like a ton of bricks. He knew it wasn't a dream. He could never have dreamed something so realistic up. Still, whatever the hell was going on, Riku was here with him. Riku was alive and touching him…and he was having hysterics. He was wasting precious time!

Sora launched himself off the couch, latching his arms around Riku's neck and hugging him close. Riku's arms wrapped around him, strong and comforting and wonderful and so much better then he remembered. He buried his face in Riku's neck, in the wet silver hair, inhaling his wonderful scent. The scent of the sea and peppermint, mixed to make a tantalizing smell that was totally and completely Riku. Riku's hand was rubbing consoling circles on his back, releasing all the tension he'd had since he'd first seen who was in the pool.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "I'm sorry for scaring you like that."

"It's okay, So, really. As long as you're all right, everything is okay."

Sora leaned back, bringing his hands up to rest on either side of his lover's face. He smoothed the bangs out of his eyes, getting the full blast of that mesmerizing turquoise.

"You're beautiful," he whispered, leaning forward and kissing those lips that he'd ached for so long. They were soft, warm, and sweet, moving in time with his own creating the gentlest of pressures, and god was it wonderful. He never thought he'd get to do this again and now that he could, he planned to take full advantage of it.

"I love you," he murmured between kisses. "More then anything in the world."

"I love you, too," Riku answered. "That's why I married you, you know." Sora gave a small laugh before becoming serious again. He'd never said everything he'd wanted to. This was his chance. Not many people got a second chance like this and he was determined not to miss the opportunity.

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me," he whispered. "I don't even want to think of where I'd be now if I hadn't met you." Riku pulled away, eyes serious.

"You know the feeling's mutual, babe," he murmured. Sora nodded in earnest, wanting to lean in and capture his husband's lips again, but knowing it was a bad idea. Riku had officially entered serious mode.

Riku's eyes swept over him, a quick study, before he let out a small sigh.

"That dream really shook you up, didn't it?" he questioned. Sora looked away and nodded. Riku grabbed his chin and turned his face so they were staring into each other's eyes.

"I love you, Sora. I'm not gonna die on you, okay? Not for a long while. I promise." Sora shook his head, looking away again.

"Don't do that, Ri," he said quietly. "Don't make me a promise you can't keep." He looked slightly guilty and Sora felt bad. Riku was trying to be understanding and Sora was throwing it in his face.

"I'm sorry…I'm just…my emotions are all over the place right now. That…dream was so real, so vivid. I feel like I just lived an entire year with you dead. It was terrible."

Riku nodded thoughtfully. "Maybe you should just go back to sleep, So. Your night couldn't have been to restful."

At the mere suggestion, Sora began shaking his head, gripping Riku's arm tightly.

"No, no. I don't want to go to sleep!" he insisted.

Riku frowned, his eyes sweeping over Sora's face. "Why?"

Sora looked away, feeling a bit ridiculous, but also knowing his fears were quite rational.

"What if I wake up and I find out that this is a dream?" he asked. "What if the dream I just had is reality and this is just a dream? A really, really, good wonderful dream?" Riku smirked. "You offend me, So. I'm way too amazing for a simple dream to replicate. There's no way this isn't happening. Your imagination just isn't fantastic enough to recreate a version anywhere near perfect enough to be me." Sora snorted. God, he missed the sarcastic arrogance that Riku wore like a cloak.

"I love you," Sora said again. He just couldn't seem to say it enough. Riku smiled and kissed him softly, a kiss that showed his love.

"Come on, So. Let's get you up to bed."

Sora allowed himself to be led up the stairs and he even dutifully changed into dry clothes. He laid on the bed without complaint, but when Riku tried to leave the room he almost threw a fit. He reached out and snatched his arm out of the air, stubbornly refusing to let go. Riku's eyebrows rose as he turned to look at his stubborn spouse.

"Sora?"

"Stay with me," he said quietly. "At least until I fall asleep." He felt a bit childish asking, but at the moment, he really didn't care. For all he knew, he would wake up and Riku would be dead again. If that was the case, he was going to hold that boy until he couldn't anymore.

"So, I'm all wet…"

"That's okay!" Sora said quickly. Sora had always been reprimanding him about getting the bedding wet after he'd been swimming. He'd always complained about having to put the comforter through the dryer afterwards because it was so thick it took hours to air dry. It all seemed so trivial now.

"It's just bedding," he explained to Riku's surprised look. "I can throw it in the dryer later. It's no big deal."

"Sora…"

"Please, Riku? Right now I just need you to hold me." A small smile graced Riku's features before he climbed into bed beside the brunet. Sora smiled as he felt Riku's arms wrap around him, pulling him close. He felt so at home there, like he had been made specifically for that particular space. After a few minutes, when Sora could feel sleep settling over him, he spoke, voice barely coming out higher then a whisper.

"Riku? Would you sing to me?"

He laughed and Sora could feel it vibrating against his own chest, vibrating in tune with the beating of his heart.

"Sure, So."

The brunet was content to drift to sleep in his lover's arms, the very same beautiful voice singing in his ear, for the first time in almost a year. Here was to hoping that it wouldn't be the last.

--

A/N: meh. I seem to be having trouble making these chapters come out good lengths. Hopefully that will fix itself in time. It might seem like Sora is being incredibly clingy, but think about it. The one person you love more then anything in the world is with you and you know you might never, ever have the chance to see, speak to, or touch this person ever again. How would you react? 10 reviews before the next update, if you please.


	5. Secret Squirrel

A/N: This one is for Mizu, 'cause she's been here with me from the very beginning, from my very first fic, dutifully reviewing every chapter and basically just being the greatest person ever. Thanks a lot.

Disclaimer: El videojuego de Kingdom Hearts 2 no es mio.

Chapter 4

The brunette woman let out a small sigh as she watched them, the smaller drifting to sleep in his lover's arms. She knew she could get in trouble for what she had done, but she felt that she'd owed it to him. To the both of them. Turning away from the Watching Stone, her breath caught in a small gasp as she saw the black haired man standing there, watching with a disappointed look in his eyes.

"What are you doing?" he asked, folding his arms over his chest. "You know we're not supposed to interfere with the others. It's against the rules. They'll punish you and the boys if they find out what you've done."

She looked away, her green eyes sparkling in shame.

"I know. I know that I've risked everything, for me and for them. But…I had to. If this works, it will all have been worth it. You understand, don't you?"

He sighed and shook his head. "I understand while you did it. I don't agree, but I understand."

They were quiet for a long time, one staring and the other looking away.

"Are you going to turn me in?" He sighed and shook his head.

"No, I won't turn you in. But don't expect me to help you, either."

"Of course not. You know I would never ask that of you." She clasped her hands behind her back, rocking back on her heels and grinning at him.

"I really have a good feeling about this. I think this is going to work."

He laughed and shook his head, reaching out a hand to rest on her shoulder. "Whatever you say, babe."

* * *

It seemed the only thing Sora did lately was wake up alone. He woke facing the clock on the bedside table, which told him that it was three in the afternoon. He wasn't quite sure of the date, but how could he be after all that had happened?

The door creaked open quietly and he saw Roxas looking in at him in concern. Oh. So that was it, then. Riku was gone. It had all been a dream.

"Hey, Rox," he murmured, not bothering to get up.

"Hey." His twin entered the room, hopping up on the bed beside him and frowning a bit, moving over a few inches.

"Damn bed is wet. Please tell me that's just water." Sora nodded numbly before the words registered. Water. The bed had water on it, which meant….

"Where's Riku?" he asked, sitting up quickly. If Roxas was surprised by this sudden change of mood, he hid it very well.

"He's in the music room with the rest of the band. Apparently they have things to talk about that I don't "need to worry my cute little ass about". Roxas rolled his eyes with a hint of a smile and Sora knew it was a direct Axel quote.

"They're all here?" he frowned. "How did I sleep through all that noise?"

Roxas laughed, shaking his head. "I have no idea, Sora. I wish you could teach me that. It would be a hell of a lot easier to sleep through Axel's snoring." The brunet smiled, pulling himself out of bed.

"What's the date, Rox?"

The blonde shrugged, pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and tossed it to his twin.

"You couldn't have just looked and told me?"

"Too lazy," Roxas grinned. "The mere thought of actually opening the phone made my muscles scream in protest."

"You're an idiot," Sora snorted, flipping the phone open. The background was a picture of Axel and Roxas kissing, looking almost like it had been taken in a photo booth.

"Very cute," Sora commented before checking the date. July 10, 2007. Okay…so it was still the same day as it was when he went to sleep. That was good. He hadn't really wasted any time.

He studied the picture again, seeing the small smile on Roxas' face, his completely relaxed posture. Sora had never seen his brother so happy before Axel. Riku said that Axel had reined himself in a lot since he'd met Roxas and started to pursue him. They were good for each other. It was weird, sitting here and realizing that Roxas wasn't yet married and knowing within the next year he would be.

"Roxas…do you love Axel?" he asked. Roxas' eyebrows shot up and he leaned back a little, eyes sweeping over his twin's face. His eyes trailed up to study the ceiling thoughtfully.

"Yeah," he answered finally. "I do love him. He makes me very happy. Happier then I've ever been." Sora smiled and patted his brother's shoulder.

"Axel…he's a really good guy. He's good for you."

"He's good to me," Roxas assured him.

"Don't let go of that, Rox. Hold on to him as long as you can, okay?"

Roxas nodded with a small grin. "You're crazy if you think I'm letting him go…but…Sora, what's this all about?"

"Nothing, Rox." Sora shook his head. "I just…I guess I want you to be as happy as I am with Riku."

"I am happy," Roxas assured him.

They were quiet for a long time, but when Sora next spoke, the mood was quite different.

"Why don't we go bother them?" he grinned. "I feel like I haven't seen them all in a long time."

Roxas stood and they started down the stairs toward the music room. As they approached, they could hear voices through the door, which was pretty impressive considering it was soundproofed.

Sora didn't bother to knock before opening it, though he usually would. He just let them in, causing everyone in the room to turn as one and look at them.

"I'm seeing double!" Demyx exclaimed with a stupid grin. "It's like I'm drunk!" The twins rolled their eyes in unison, entering the room. Roxas instantly made his way toward the blonde girl sitting on a stool in the corner, pulling her into a hug.

"Naminé!" he exclaimed. "I've missed you." She laughed and hugged him back.

Naminé was the sole female in the band. She played the guitar and looking at her, you'd never guess that they music she played was so core. With her long blonde hair and clear blue eyes, she looked the farthest thing from a metal guitarist. She and Roxas had been very close in high school before going off to different colleges and basically losing contact with each other, as so often happened in life.

Sora had always been half convinced that the two would end up married until Roxas had realized he was gay (greatly due to Axel) and Naminé married a member of the band.

Marluxia, Naminé's husband and the Organization's drummer, was an interesting piece of work. His life's greatest passion, beside playing music, was gardening. The guy was completely and totally obsessed with flowers. This, plus the fact that his hair was pale pink, made most people believe he was gay. He was constantly denying the accusations and some had even gone so far as to say his relationship with Naminé was a cover-up.

The final member of the band, Demyx, also played the guitar. He lived and breathed music and was basically an upbeat, easygoing guy. There was never a dull moment when Demyx was around.

"Damn, I feel ignored," Axel teased as Sora settled on Riku's lap.

"I see you everyday!" Roxas argued as he took a seat next to Naminé. "I see her once every blue moon. I think you can last a few hours without touching me."

"I reserve the right to sexually assault you later," the redhead shrugged.

"We'll see," Roxas said dryly.

"Please, you know you can't resist my manly charms!"

While the two continued to playfully bicker, Riku's arms came to rest around Sora's waist and his lips brushed against his ear.

"Are you feeling better, So?" He nodded, turning slightly so he could face his lover.

"Yeah, I am. I guess I was just really tired earlier." Riku nodded and kissed his temple. "Good. I'm glad you're okay now."

"I'm okay as long as you're here with me," Sora whispered back. Riku smirked and kissed him deeply, basically causing an uproar from the people around them.

"Damn, can't you do that when we're not around?" Marluxia.

"See, Roxy, Sora and Riku know how it's done!" Axel.

"Yeah? Go have a relationship with Sora and Riku, then." Roxas.

"You people make me realize it. I need to get myself someone to love." Demyx.

"Leave them alone, Marly, they're adorable." Naminé.

This last sentence made Riku pull away. He pointed a finger accusingly at Naminé.

"I am not adorable. I am many things, but adorable is certainly not one of them."

"I dunno Ri," Sora teased. "You look pretty adorable to me." He wasn't amused. In fact, he pushed Sora off his lap and onto the floor. The brunet pouted up at his lover.

"You're a bitch," Sora informed him.

"So I've been told."

"How about that, Axel? You still think they have the right idea?"

The redhead stuck his tongue out at his boyfriend.

"So why exactly are we having a secret squirrel meeting anyway?" Sora asked from his position on the floor, leaning his head back to look up at Demyx.

"Its not really secret if you're in here, is it?" Demyx grinned, looking down at him.

"It's no big deal, So. We just need to record a few more songs for the next album before the tour strikes up." Riku said. Roxas and Sora exchanged identical looks of exasperation.

"Your tour is in a week!" Roxas exclaimed. "Seven days! At least one of which I was hoping to spend with my boyfriend before I won't see him again for six months." There was a long silence in which Axel's eyes widened and he looked at Riku as if hoping he would help the redhead out. Roxas rolled his eyes before pushing himself off the floor and stalking out the room. Another long silence stretched out before Naminé threw her hands up in exasperation and Sora shook his head.

"Go after him, you idiot!" they cried in unison. Axel hurriedly stood and rushed out of the room.

"Right…you're okay with this, right So?" Riku asked.

Sora shrugged. "Even if I wasn't, what could I do?" he asked. "It's your job and you need to do it. I can't really complain…but that also means you don't get to complain while I hang around the studio with you."

"That's fair enough," Riku agreed.

"See, I told you he wouldn't freak out!" Marluxia sighed. "Riku was all worried, you know."

Sora was wondering how he'd forgotten about this. Of course Riku had spent basically all his time in the studio leading up to his imminent departure. It hadn't really bothered Sora all that much, considering they'd had their whole lives to spend together. If only he'd known. Now, though, he was going to spend every waking moment he possibly could with Riku. That, plus he had to find out a way to stop Riku's death from happening. He could stop it. He had to.

There was no way he'd ever be able to get Riku to stay home from the concert; he'd never missed a show before. That meant the only thing he could do was find the killer before he struck and take care of him. That would be a bit difficult, considering the only feature Sora had seen were his eyes. Those dangerous amber eyes…they'd haunted his nightmares. Eyes like that, they couldn't be common…but Hollow Bastion was a big, big city. Five days. He had five days to find those amber eyes.

--

A/N: Yup. So it's 2:22 in the morning. I'm writing and watching Instant Star…at the same time. So, a crazy chick named Megan just kidnapped main character Jude and chained her to the floor and is now threatening her with a hammer. You've gotta love Canadian television.


	6. Late Night Swim, Early Morning Interview

Disclaimer: El videojuego de Kingdom Hearts 2 no es mio.

Chapter 5- 4 days remaining

Sora couldn't sleep. Then again, with how much time he'd spent sleeping over the last two days, who could really blame him? It was somewhere around three in the morning and Riku had been lost to the world for hours, long since abandoning Sora in favor of cuddling with his pillow. Sora didn't really mind so much. He got to watch Riku's face, set in that peaceful, innocent expression that was rarely seen when the singer was actually conscious. Of course, if Riku woke up and saw that Sora was watching him, it might bring up some unwanted questions.

With this thought, the brunet slipped out of bed and headed downstairs. He went straight to the backyard and stared at the pool, which Riku had been too lazy to cover for the night. The moon was reflected in the slightly rippling surface of the water. It was pretty. Sora stripped down to his boxers and dived into the chilled water, quickly coming back to the surface and floating on his back, staring at the sky.

It had been nearly a year since he'd been in this pool voluntarily. It had always been one of Riku's havens and it had just been too painful to think about. It was actually a little bit funny. He'd spent a whole year avoiding the thought of his love and then he'd been thrown full throttle right back into the thick of it. He'd been given another chance. More time with his husband and maybe even a chance to stop his death. The real question remained, though. Was it possible?

Was it even possible for Sora to save him? He was supposed to die at that particular point in time, correct? By Sora being there and knowing what was coming, he, by chance, had the ability to stop it. If that were the case, though, couldn't he screw up the future? Sure, his own future would be wonderful, but what about that of other people? Would his happiness come at the price of someone else's? Did he care? No. Maybe it was selfish, but he didn't care. Riku was his. They were meant to be together and they would be. Sora would make sure of it.

The water moved around him, accompanied by the muffled sound of a splash. He sat up, treading in place, to see Riku coming up from under the surface of the water.

"What are you doing out here at this time of night?" he asked, squinting as he spoke.

"I couldn't sleep," Sora shrugged. "I didn't want to bother you and going for a swim suddenly seemed like a really good idea." Riku wrapped his arms around Sora's waist, pulling him close and resting his head on the brunet's shoulder. Sora was a little annoyed to see that Riku could easily stand where he couldn't even touch without submerging his entire body in water. Stupid tall genes.

"What were you thinking about?" Riku asked. Sora could tell he was really tired and felt kind of guilty for being the reason that Riku was up in the first place.

"A lot of things," Sora said quietly. "Mostly about you."

"Yeah? What about me?"

"I don't know, Ri…" It was distracting, trying to think with Riku's breath rhythmically moving against his neck, close enough to touch, yet not actually making contact. "Just everything, I guess. How much I'm gonna miss you when you're gone. How I can convince you to let me hang around with you all the time over the next week without you getting annoyed by my constant presence."

Riku let out a small, breathy laugh. "You're welcome to come wherever I go, So. I'm gonna miss you too, you know."

"Yeah," Sora agreed. "I know."

"I have an interview in the morning," Riku said quietly. "You wanna come with? We can get something to eat afterwards, spend some time together."

"Just you and me," Sora sighed peacefully. "And the random fans who recognize you."

Riku laughed again. "Yeah. Them too."

"Okay," Sora agreed. "We should probably go back to bed if we have to get up early."

This time Riku's laugh was much more of a chuckle. The mere sound of it made Sora shiver. "I can think of something else I'd much rather be doing right now," he breathed, lips finally moving to touch Sora's neck, his tongue lapping out to collect some of the water droplets residing there.

"Yeah?" Sora asked, swallowing with difficulty. Riku's head lifted and his arms tightened around the brunet's waist, lifting him a bit higher so their faces, not to mention other parts, were level with each other.

"Yeah," Riku growled, claiming his lips for a harsh kiss.

Sora didn't object. Even if he wanted to, which was a crazy thought all in it's own, the kiss basically left him completely and totally speechless. Sora could live with that.

The next morning brought them to the realization that they were not in their bedroom. At least they were actually in the house, though. The two tended to lose their heads a bit when, well…you get the drift.

No, instead, they were on the couch, a throw blanket pulled over them, squished very close together. Sora was okay with that as well, considering Riku was holding him in a death grip. It was nice to be held. He shifted slightly, sending pain shooting up his spine. Strangely enough, he didn't mind that either, though he was sure to be feeling it all day long.

Riku's watch started beeping, an alarm they'd set to actually wake up on time considering they were too lazy to walk all the way upstairs. Sora could hear the alarm in the bedroom going off as well. Riku jerked awake in shock, rolling off the side of the couch. Sora had no choice but to go with him, considering he was still being death-gripped. He landed with on Riku, who let out a grunt and pushed him off.

"I hate alarm clocks," he hissed, pulling himself to his feet. Yeah. Riku was a bitch in the morning, especially when technological devices were part of the reason he'd been awoken in the first place. Sora carefully pulled himself to his feet, grabbing his boxers from the floor and pulling them on. They were still slightly damp from the pool, but they would do until he got in the shower. Riku was still grumbling about being awake when Sora jumped onto his back. Riku stumbled, but managed to right them both before looking over his shoulder at the brunet.

"Why did you do that?" he asked.

Sora nuzzled his face into Riku's neck. "I'm in pain and it's your fault, so I've officially decided that you're going to carry me upstairs."

"You enjoyed it," Riku muttered, starting up the stairs dutifully.

"You're the best," Sora informed him.

"I damn well better be," Riku retorted playfully. "I'm carrying you up the stairs, aren't I?"

The interviewer was a redheaded woman with kind blue eyes by the name of Kairi. She didn't even bat an eyelash when Riku informed her Sora would be sitting in for the interview. She'd taken it all in stride, sticking to her job and Sora took a seat next to Riku, idly doodling in the sketchbook he'd nabbed before they left the house. Drawing was another thing he hadn't done since Riku died. Now that he was at it again, though, he wondered why he'd ever stopped. It was such a calming exercise. He didn't pay much attention to the shape coming to life on the page, but actually listened to the interview going on next to him. Kairi and Riku spoke easily back and forth as if they'd known each other their whole lives. A tape recorder was running on the table between them.

"So, the initial reason for the Organization's hiatus was…?"

Riku shrugged. "We'd been working non-stop for a few years trying to get ourselves noticed, and then when we were, trying to keep ourselves on top. We were in a pretty comfortable position and I met Sora and Naminé and Marly were getting married. Eventually, those two, Nami and Marly, that is, decided they needed some time to spend together alone and So and I got married about that same time so the whole band decided to go on a year hiatus to give some structure to our personal lives."

Riku nudged his glasses back up on his nose and nodded with finality. He hated wearing them, but he was legally blind without either the glasses or his contacts. His eyes had been so tired from late night activities that he'd decided to suck it up and wear the offending frames.

"What are your feelings about the tour starting up again?"

Sora was now enraptured by their conversation. He wouldn't be surprised if he were now sketching on the table rather then the paper.

"Mixed feelings, I suppose. I'm certainly going to miss all the free time, but it will be good to be out doing the music thing again. For me, there's nothing better then seeing all the fans screaming in the audience. It's a powerful, exhilarating feeling."

She nodded as if she knew exactly what he was talking about. "Yeah, I get that feeling whenever I have a byline. To see my name in print, it's just…" Riku was smiling and nodding his agreement. "Are you going to accompany him?"

It took Sora a long moment to realize she was talking to him. "What? On tour?" he asked. She nodded. "Definitely not. I don't think my sanity could stand that long trapped in such close proximity with Axel." She laughed and nodded.

"Won't you be lonely alone for so long?" Riku cocked an eyebrow and even Sora was a bit shocked. He didn't know much about journalism, but wasn't that somewhat of a personal question? Sora was even more shocked when Riku actually answered.

"Of course I'll be lonely. It will certainly be different waking up alone every morning." Honey, you have no idea. "We'll get through it, though. Ax will be pining for his lover too, who's staying here with So. We'll have company."

They continued to chat about random things and Sora finally looked down at his drawing. He had to fight to keep from gasping out loud at the sight. The picture was of a face. The man had long hair that was spiked in places. The structure of his face was strong and slender, a slightly arrogant look painted on his features. His eyes were hard, slightly narrowed, and incredibly familiar, though Sora wasn't quite sure why. He was fairly positive he'd never seen the face before in his life…but then, why would he draw it in the first place? And why did it look so familiar?

He snapped his sketchbook shut and stood. Kairi and Riku stopped and looked at him.

"Are you okay, So?"

"Yeah," Sora waved them off. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to get some air, I feel kinda dizzy."

"You want me to come with you…?"

"No," Sora shook his head. "No. Finish your interview. I won't be far."

"If you're sure…"

"I am." He slipped out the door and took a deep breath, clutching his sketchbook close to his side. He started walking until he found the way outside. He reached into his pocket and found his cell phone, dialing the number from memory as easily as if he did it everyday. It rang four times before there was an answer.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Cloud?"

"Yeah…Roxas or Sora?"

Sora rolled his eyes. "Cloud, you've known me since the day I was born. We don't even sound that much alike! You should be able to tell us apart!"

There was an annoyed sigh. "Sorry Roxas."

"It's Sora!"

"Sorry."

Sora had half the mind just to hang up on his cousin, but he resisted the urge quite well.

"Listen, I have a favor to ask."

Sora was quiet as he waited for a response. He should have known better. Cloud was most definitely a man of little to no words.

"I'm listening," the blonde said finally.

"Oh. Right." Sora bit his lower lip, eyes scanning the street around them. A woman was dragging her protesting daughter down the street, the girl's wrist in one hand, a cell phone pressed to her ear with other. A man pushed a shopping cart full of cans in the opposite direction, talking to himself in a rather loud voice.

"Are you still…in contact with Reno?" he asked.

Cloud let out a hissed breath. "Why do you want to see him? He's not really the type of guy you should be getting involved with, Sora, trust me."

"I'm not planning on a long term deal, Cloud. I'm trying to find someone and…well, last I heard, Reno knows everyone and everything in and about Hollow Bastion." Cloud let out a deep sigh and Sora could almost picture him pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"That is true…how important is this person you're looking for, Sora?"

"It's life and death."

There was a long amount of silence from the other end of the phone.

"All right. I'll call Reno and get you a time to meet him. But I'm going with you. I don't trust Reno farther then I can throw him." Sora didn't point out the fact that, because of Cloud's bodybuilding tendencies and Reno's own lean frame, he would probably be able to throw the redhead quite a substantial distance. Instead, he pointed out the other obvious matter.

"Cloud, you dated Reno for three years."

"Then you should trust my judgment of him."

Sora could see that Cloud's stubborn side had set in. He let out a frustrated puff of air before grumpily agreeing to Cloud's demand.

"All right, fine. You can come with me. Just get me in to see him."

"I'll call with a time later," Cloud said and hung up promptly. Sora snapped his own phone shut and slipped it back in his pocket just as Riku exited the building.

"Feeling better?" his silver-haired lover asked.

"Yeah. Let's go get some food, huh?"

So they did.

--

A/N: I am a serious Reno/Cloud lover. I don't know why, they just make me squeal with fangirly happiness. I was gonna have them together in the fic, but then I eventually decided against it because of the fact that Reno isn't actually in Kingdom Hearts. Still, I couldn't deny him a place in the fic because he (tied with Auron from FFX and, now, Axel) is my most favorite videogame character ever! Oh, and what's up with the picture, hmm? For a limited time only, all reviewers will win a cowboy hat (color of their choice) filled with popcorn (or other requested snack food)! Why a cowboy hat? I have no idea.


	7. Inaudible Screams and Flashbacks

Disclaimer: El videojuego de Kingdom Hearts 2 no es mio. Song lyrics belong to Underoath.

Chapter 6- 3 days remaining

_"Can you feel your heart beat racing? Can you taste the fear in your sweat?"_

Sora was currently sitting in a recording studio inside Oblivion Records Co. A producer was at his side, fiddling with switches and knobs, sometimes frowning and shaking his head and other times smiling and nodding as if he'd just discovered the secret of life.

"You've done this wrong it's too far gone and your sheets tell of regret."

Sora was staring at his sketchpad, concentrating intensely on the picture he was doing of Riku to keep from dwelling on the other picture he'd drawn the day before. Other members of the band had been in and out all day long and currently Demyx was sitting at his side, watching him draw in fascination. He'd already made several thousand comments on how realistic it looked and made Sora promise to draw one of the blonde guitarist later.

"I admit that I'm just a fool for you, I'm just a fool for you." The music picked up and Riku let out a throaty scream into the mic, making Sora jump a mile. Demyx laughed at the brunet who was too busy trying to get over the shock to care. He'd been to enough of Riku's shows to expect that, but the simple fact that his vocal cords could accomplish such a feat never ceased to amaze Sora. The producer frowned and shook his head, leaning forward and pressing a button. Riku stopped when he saw the motion.

"Too much?" he asked, pulling his headphones off, his voice returning to the deep supple sound Sora was so used to.

"Just a bit. Take it down a notch."

"We have to be able to understand you, Riku!" Demyx yelled. Riku flipped him the bird and pulled the headphones back on, getting right back to work. This last statement, however, intrigued Sora, and he turned to look at the guitarist.

"Wait a sec…you're telling me that you actually understand what he's saying when he does that?" Demyx nodded. "When he does it, right, yes." Sora looked at his husband, separated from them by thick glass, eyes closed and crooning into the mike.

"There are a lot of your songs that I can't understand a word he says. I merely refer to that," he indicated the singing, which had just picked up again, "As inaudible screaming." Demyx laughed and shook his head.

"I'll translate for you." Just as he said this, however, Riku started to sing again, rather then scream.

"Tonight's your last chance to do exactly what you want to." Demyx swore good-naturedly.

"Aw, we missed it. Give him a sec; it'll come back again." The producer seemed amused by their conversation. He spared them a glance, though he was obviously torn between focusing on his job or their conversation. Eventually, his desire to not get fired took over and he focused his attention wholly on the singer and the thousands of knobs in front of him.

"And this could be my night this is what makes me feel alive."

"Oh…here it comes!" The screaming erupted again and Demyx began translating. By the time he'd gotten through the whole song, Sora was amazed at Demyx's ability to decipher the screams. The producer nodded and hit the button again.

"That was great, Riku," he praised. "Take a break and then we'll start on the next one." Riku exited the room; catching the bottle of water Demyx threw him and taking a long drink.

"What were you two laughing about out here, anyway?" he asked.

"Nothing." Sora tried to save face but Demyx blew his cover by reiterating the entire story. By the end, Riku was laughing as well.

"It takes a trained ear and many years of practice. Riku sucked down two bottles of water and then had to go to the bathroom. When he got back, he was all but forced back into the room behind the glass.

"Start singing," the producer demanded. Riku did as he was told, not looking very happy about it. Almost as soon as he started singing, Sora's phone rang. According to the caller ID it was Cloud. He flipped the phone open, turning away from the glass as if prying eyes were everywhere. He left the room, ignoring Demyx's inquiries.

"Hey Cloud, what's up?" he greeted as he entered the busy hallway.

"Reno agreed to see you…but he says he's only free today at noon."

Sora sucked in a sharp breath. "Noon? Cloud, it's eleven thirty!"

"I know. Worse part is, I'm at work right now, so I can't go with you. Dammit, I know he's just doing this to be an annoying prick."

"Well, where do I go?" He was actually a bit relieved that Cloud couldn't go. He wanted to avoid explaining as long as he could.

"You don't need to know. Leon will be there to pick you up in fifteen." Sora rolled his eyes, wondering vaguely if Cloud realized he was baby-sitting his younger cousin.

"That's not necessary…"

"It is, Sora. If you're not with Leon, you don't go."

Sora let out an exasperated sigh, knowing he couldn't win.

"All right fine…but I'm not at home. I'm at Oblivion Records."

"I'll let Leon know." The phone went dead. Sora rolled his eyes and snapped the phone shut, shoving it in his pocket. Would it kill the man to say goodbye? He made his way back inside, ripping a blank page from his sketchbook and writing as he went. By the time he'd actually managed to enter the recording room-not exactly an easy feat when your hands are full-his message had been written.

There's something I need to do. I'll see you at home.

He pushed the paper against the glass and waited until Riku looked at him. His singing didn't cease, but he nodded to show that he understood. Sora said his goodbyes to the producer and Demyx and then made his way toward the front of the record company.

He stood against the wall amongst several smokers as he waited. That really brought him back

_Sora took a deep breath as he pushed his way outside. The concert had been crazy and stifling and loud. The band wasn't one he'd have gone to see by his own choice, but Tidus had practically forced him. The band had been pretty good, but Sora hadn't really been able to understand a word the singer was saying. Somewhere along the way, Tidus and Wakka had disappeared into the mosh pit and Sora hadn't seen them since. Considering the arena was still so full with hopeful fans, Sora figured it would be easier to find them outside, not to mention his cell phone didn't get service inside. No one was outside except for a deviously attractive silver-haired male maybe a year or two older then Sora himself. He was leaning back against the wall smoking a cigarette with apparently deep interest. For lack of something better to do, Sora leaned against the wall next to him, looking hopefully at the door as if that might make his friends appear. They'd taken Tidus' car, so without him Sora was without a ride home._

_"Hey," the silver-haired guy greeted before letting a stream of smoke escape his lips. He held out a package of cigarettes to Sora as an offering, but the brunet shook his head._

_"No thanks. I don't smoke." He nodded and slipped the package back in his pocket._

_"I should quit," he sighed as if it were a far off dream._

_They were quiet again until he dropped his cigarette and crushed it under his boot._

_"Are you waiting for someone?" he asked, obviously noting Sora eyeing the door._

_"Uh…yeah. My friends dragged me here and then ditched me." He laughed. "Not a big fan of the band, then?" he asked. Sora shrugged. "They were pretty good. I don't know, it's not really my thing. I couldn't understand a word, so I guess that's a point against them." His current companion let out a deep laugh and shook his head._

_"To each their own opinion, I guess."_

_"You like them a lot?" Sora asked, wondering if he might have offended the stranger. It wasn't like it was much of a big deal, considering he'd most likely never see him again, but he'd still rather not leave a bad impression on someone that beautiful. Maybe it was a stupid reason, but he didn't really care._

_"Yeah, I guess you could say that. You might say I've devoted my life to the band." Sora wondered if he was serious. Could any fan actually be so devoted to a band? Sora jumped as his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. The text message almost made him want to scream._

_'Tidus' arm was pulled from the socket. Took him to the hospital. Find a ride. –Wakka'_

_Instead, he let out a loud groan and shoved his phone back in his pocket._

_"Something wrong?"_

_Sora shook his head. "One of my friends got hurt in the mosh pit. He's in the hospital and now I don't have a ride home."_

_He nodded thoughtfully. "I could give you a ride home. After all, it is sort of my fault."_

_Sora frowned. "How do you figure?"_

_He blinked as if he hadn't really thought of that himself before answering. "Well, I sort of started the mosh pit. It's the least I could do."_

_Sora thought about it for a long moment before nodding slowly. Maybe taking a ride from a complete and total stranger was a stupid idea, but he didn't seem like a threat. Even if he was, Sora was more then capable of taking care of himself._

_"Well…yeah. That'd be great. Thanks a lot. I'm Sora, by the way."_

_The silver-haired male pulled his keys from his pocket and jerked his head to the left._

_"My car is this way. I'm Riku." Sora followed after him, shoving his hands into his pocket as he went. Riku drove a red Jeep, which was parked just behind the arena. He must have gotten there very early to get such a close spot._

_The ride back to Sora's apartment was quiet but for the hushed hum of the radio and Sora giving directions. When they came to a stop in front of his apartment, Sora was almost glad to escape the car. The silence hadn't really been awkward, but he'd been almost wishing Riku would say something. He undid his seatbelt and was reaching for the handle when Riku leaned over and grabbed his arm. He turned to look at him questioningly, dropping his hand from the door._

_"What's the matter?" he asked. Riku shot him a sexy smirk before his hand snatched up and grabbed the collar of his shirt. Sora let out a gasp as he was pulled forward almost roughly. He did let out a gasp when Riku's lips met his in a rough kiss. Still, he didn't mind returning the kiss. After a few minutes, though, his primary head caught up with his secondary head. He pulled away, gasping for breath._

_"You know, I don't usually do this," he muttered._

_"Good," Riku grinned. "That means I'm special." He captured Sora's lips for one more quick kiss, leaving the brunet blinking in confusion._

_"Why are you doing this?"_

_"I couldn't resist you. You're too damn cute," Riku said simply. His arm was captured by Riku's hand and a number was scrawled across his wrist._

_"Call me sometime, all right?"_

A familiar black truck pulled up in front of the studio. Sora let out a sigh of relief and let himself into the truck, practically having to heave himself in due to the truck's less than accommodating nature to anyone of short stature. As soon as he got the door closed, Leon ripped off into traffic, leaving Sora to wonder if he would live through the car ride.

--

A/N: Ha. My Word dictionary doesn't believe me when I tell it that "mosh" is actually a word. If you had any sort of fanciful feeling toward this piece of work, let me know by pushing the purple (blue?) button in the bottom left corner.


	8. Reno's Soft Spot

A/N: Hey guys, I have lots to saya today. Okay, first of all, I forgot to say this is the last chapter so I'll say it now. Riding in cars with strangers is **A VERY BAD IDEA**. I don't care if you have to walk home seventeen miles in the rain and the person offering a ride is a total sexpot like Riku. Just don't do it. I don't want to be the reason y'all get kidnapped and raped or something. Okay, next order of business. I'm taking my driver's test today, so wish me luck! Thirdly and finally, today is my last day of summer. I start my junior year tomorrow and I really don't intend on failing (though the possibility is high because I'm lazy as hell) so I might not be around so much soon. I'm sorry in advance, but hopefully I'll be able to straighten out my priorities quickly and realize that, of course, fanfiction is infinitely more important then school.

Disclaimer: El videojuego de Kingdom Hearts 2 no es mio.

Chapter 7

"Hey, Leon," Sora greeted. "Sorry about this. My cousin is crazy."

"For good reason, I think. Reno isn't the sort of company you want to keep." Leon said.

Sora rolled his eyes. "You, Reno, and Cloud have been best friends since the third grade. Don't you think that's a bit hypocritical?" Sora demanded. Leon's gray eyes shifted off the road to glance at Sora for a long moment before shifting back.

"That's exactly how we know what we're talking about. I've known Reno for twenty-three years; I know how he operates and how he thinks. Even that doesn't stop him from trying to trip me up every once in a while. Reno is all about looking out for number one. He'll screw you over in any way possible if he can. The only one who's ever been able to rein any control over him is his younger brother. He has a…certain sensitive spot for him."

Sora found this piece of information interesting. Reno had a soft spot…

About twenty minutes later they came to a stop in front of a record store. Sora hopped out while Leon looked for a place to park and made his way inside. A brunette girl sat behind the counter, looking extremely bored. She hardly glanced up from her magazine as Sora approached the counter. He was the tiniest bit amused to see the Organization was on the cover. Riku looked so punked out, it was entertaining to compare it to his normal everyday look. She finally let out a loud sigh as if it was a great hassle to actually do her job. She lowered her magazine just in the slightest, looking at him for a long moment before jerking the magazine back up and then looking at him again.

"Oh my god, you're him, aren't you?" she asked, finally seeming to take interest and slapping the magazine down on the table.

"Um…him. Yes, I'm also referred to as he, you, kid…"

"No," she shook her head impatiently. "You're him." She snatched up the magazine and shoved it at him eagerly. "You're married to Riku Silver, aren't you?" Sora took the magazine and looked at it. It was flipped to a page that had an article about the newly launching tour and there were pictures littered around it of various members of the band. One included a picture of himself and Riku holding hands as they walked down the street. Riku was laughing at something, looking incredibly laid back with his hair in a low ponytail and wearing his glasses. He'd be pissed if he knew they'd printed a picture of him in his glasses.

"Uh…yeah, that's me," he admitted, handing the magazine back to the girl. She suddenly looked a lot more lively and welcoming then she had a moment ago.

"Is Riku here?" she asked, looking around as if he might pop out of a closet.

"Nope." Sora almost grinned at the disappointed look she gave him. "He's in the recording studio."

"Oh." Leon chose that moment to stride through the door and Sora saw her eyes light up again.

"He's gay," Sora informed her. She let out a huff, picking up her magazine and shaking it out as if it had done something to offend her. Leon approached them and she cast him another glance.

"We're here to see Reno."

She rolled her eyes and set the magazine down. She grabbed a key chain off the table and started toward the back row. Leon and Sora exchanged a glance before following after her. At the end of the row was a door. She unlocked it and opened it up.

"Upstairs, third door on the right," she instructed before starting back towards the front. The pair started up the staircase and down to the third door on the right. Leon raised a fist and knocked on it.

"Reno, it's me," he called as he knocked. The door swung open and Sora was shocked to see Axel.

"Oh…hey," he greeted as Leon ushered him forward into the room.

Reno was leaning back in a big chair behind his desk, fingers tented and resting against his lips. Sora couldn't help but think that he looked like a mob boss.

"Sora…what are you doing here?" Axel asked with the slightest frown.

"I'm here to see Reno…what are you doing here?"

"Reno's my brother," Axel explained. Well…that was convenient. Reno leaned forward in his chair.

"Who's this, Ax?"

"Uh…this is Sora. He's Roxas' brother." Reno looked blank. Axel rolled his eyes. "Roxas? You know…he's only been my boyfriend for the past year."

"Oh, right! The short blondie!" Axel rolled his eyes. While this conversation was going on, Leon cast Sora his special annoyed look.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were friends with his brother? Cloud might've let you come alone if he'd known…"

"I didn't know they were brothers!" Sora argued back. The two mini-conversations came to an end almost simultaneously.

"Listen, Reno, I've got to get back to the studio. Be nice to Sora, he's practically family." With these parting words, Axel made his exit.

"All right, Sora." Reno sat back in his chair again. "What can I do for you?"

* * *

The woman leaned over the Watching Stone, smiling at the fact that Sora seemed to understand exactly what she'd intended him to do with the image she'd sent him. He was a smart kid, all he needed was a bit of a push.

"Are you interfering again?" She almost jumped out of her skin at the sound of the unexpected voice behind her. He had that same disapproving look on his face, his black spikes seeming to wilt with the expression. She felt the guilt seize her, but it wasn't enough to deter her from her intentions.

"I know you don't agree with me, but I'm doing what I think is right. If you don't want to be an accomplice then you might like to steer clear of me for a while." His eyes softened and he shook his head, coming to sit next to her on the cold granite of the Watching Stone. It really was a beautiful place, the Stone floating in the middle of nothing, surrounded by mist and sparkling lights, far below revealing fields of flowers. A thin layer of mist lay in a chalice in the center of the Stone, now portraying a picture of Sora speaking with a cocky looking redhead.

"You know I could never steer clear of you. I can't exist without you next to me." She smiled sweetly and planted a soft kiss on his cheek.

"That's why I'm doing this. Because I love him. I want him to be as happy as he can for as long as he can." He nodded and leaned back on his hands.

"Yeah, I guess I understand. You're a real self sacrificing woman, you know that? Basically a saint." She blushed and shook her head modestly.

"Now, I wouldn't say that." He laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"You know, though, I think you should give a rest on watching them all the time. They deserve their privacy every once in a while, not to mention the fact that your garden has been withering away in your absence." It was this, more then anything, that made her leave the Stone.

* * *

Sora settled himself in the chair in front of Reno's desk. The redhead's eyes flashed up and down, studying Sora in interest.

"I don't know what's up with Axel," he sighed finally, shaking his head. "He's become the leader of the lollipop guild." Sora glared at the blatant stab at his height, which caused Reno to laugh. His blue-green eyes flicked up to look at Leon, narrowing just in the slightest.

"Squall," he greeted with a nod. Leon glowered at him, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It's Leon."

"Ah, right. Yeah, of course, I remember. You did switch your name, didn't you? Right about the time you stole my boyfriend right from under my nose!"

"I didn't steal him, Reno! The two of you breaking up was your own damn fault…"

"Um…" Sora spoke up, wondering if the two were going to get in an all out blowout right there.

"And you were so conveniently there to pick him back up, weren't you!"

"Don't blame your failed relationship on me! I didn't make a move until six months after the two of you broke up…"

"You shouldn't have made a move at all! You're my best friend and he's my ex…!"

"You guys!" Sora yelled. They both stopped and turned to stare at the brunet. "You're bickering like a bunch of high school girls." There was a thick moment of silence in which Sora wondered if they were going to team up and turn on him, before Reno grinned. It was surprisingly reminiscent of Axel's.

"Yeah," he sighed. "Shortie's got a point. Strifey's too angsty for me anyway." He held out a hand to Leon, who Sora finally realized was chuckling, and shook it.

"I concede, my friend. You won." He sat back again and looked at Sora seriously. Sora looked curiously at Leon, who shrugged. "We always greet each other that way. It's a joke."

Oh.

"Okay. What is it that you want to know? Usually I wouldn't just offer up the information…but since you're a friend of Axel's…well, I guess I can do you a favor," Reno said thoughtfully.

"Thanks." Sora flipped through his sketchbook and ripped out the picture he'd drawn. He slid it over the desk and Reno picked it up to study it. His eyebrows rose and peered over the top of the paper.

"This is really good, yo," he said. "Did you draw this?"

"Um…yeah."

"It's very realistic. Looks just like him." Sora felt a thrill of excitement. He leaned forward a little bit in anticipation.

"You mean…you know who he is, then?" Reno laughed out loud.

"Of course I do. I know everyone in this city. That's why you're here, isn't it?" Sora nodded.

"Yeah, I thought so. Out of curiosity…why are you looking for him? He's not exactly the kind of guy a cute kid like you should be hanging around with…"

"Cute kid?" Sora spat, finally losing his temper. "I'm twenty-six, dammit!" Reno blinked rapidly before bursting into laughter.

"Yeah, yeah, of course. Twenty-six? Seriously?" Sora pouted, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back in his chair.

"Yes. Seriously. Now are you going to tell me who this guy is, or what?" Reno sighed and grinned again.

"He owns a tattoo parlor down on Fifteenth Street. He's a really good artist, probably the best in the city. Some say that he's absolutely crazy, but if you want good art, that's where you go."

"On Fifteenth Street?" Sora clarified. When Reno nodded, he pressed on. "What's the name of the shop?"

"The Inked Heart." At Sora's raised eyebrow, Reno laughed. "Yeah, I know. It's kind of a lame name, but really, he's good. His name is Xemnas Corazon."

--

A/N: Yup…Reno is a mob boss. Not really, but he gives off that image and that's sorta funny, IMO. Yesh, Xemnas is the picture man. But why is he important? Hhhhmmm?


	9. The Inked Heart

Disclaimer: El videojuego de Kingdom Hearts 2 no es mio.

Chapter 8- 2 days remaining

The Inked Heart was a relatively small shop in the middle of Hollow Bastion's Village district. It was called the Village district because all the buildings for four city blocks around looked like they belonged in a small village from the Renaissance. The Inked Heart resembled a cottage and had a wooden sign hanging above the door. The name of the shop was written in slashing, yet clear lettering over the backdrop of a flaming heart. He took a deep breath and made his way into the shop. A bell rang overhead and he almost felt as if he was a little kid, getting caught sneaking into the cookie jar.

"I'll be out in a second!" a voice called from somewhere in the back, separated from the front by a black curtain. Sora took a moment to look around. The place was pretty clean, a reclining chair in one corner with a straight-backed chair and a silver tray standing next to it. The walls were covered in pictures of tattoos. Some hand drawn, others photographs or ripped from magazines. Sora recognized one of them, a tattoo he knew that every member of The Organization had across the back of their shoulders, except Naminé, whose tattoo was on the small of her back. Roxas constantly teased her about having a 'tramp stamp'. It was simple, merely the band's name written in thick gothic letters. He knew, instinctively, that the person in the photograph was Riku. If the silver hair didn't give it away, the faint scar running between his shoulder blades did so quite well. So, Riku had been there before. No doubt this Xemnas did the very tattoo being displayed in his shop.

The curtain from the back was swept aside and the man from Sora's drawing was suddenly standing before him. For a moment, Sora was impressed with how well he'd managed to capture this man's image, before he looked into his face and locked eyes with him. He almost ran screaming from the shop. Those were the very same eyes that had haunted his nightmares for the past year. They were the eyes of Riku's killer. He hadn't recognized them in the drawing due to the lack of color, but now it was quite obvious.

"What can I do for you?" he asked.

"Um…I want a tattoo," Sora blurted. Well that was a no brainer, wasn't it? He was in a tattoo parlor, after all. He hadn't originally intended to get a tattoo, but now it really seemed to be the only way to get his answers without seeming suspicious. Xemnas didn't seem to notice the stupidity of the statement.

"All right, what are you thinking you want?" Sora froze. He hadn't thought of that. Xemnas seemed to notice the problem and he nodded, pulling out a gigantic binder.

"Go ahead and look through this. I'll get everything ready."

Sora dropped into the reclining chair and started flipping through the book. He had to take this extremely seriously. After all, whatever he chose would be on his body forever. He'd flipped through almost twenty pages when he something finally caught his eye. It would need a minor adjustment, of course.

"I want that," he said, pointing it out and explaining how he wanted the picture changed.

"And where do you want it?" Thinking quickly, Sora tapped the inside of his left wrist. The same place Riku had scrawled his phone number the first time they'd met. Xemnas nodded and set to work on a piece of paper. Sora drummed his fingers nervously against the armrest of his chair and glanced around the shop again as the murderer worked.

"Okay, what do you think?" He showed Sora a sketch of the tattoo, exactly as the brunet had described it.

"It looks good." He took a fine-tipped Sharpie to Sora's wrist and began drawing the same picture in faint lines on his wrist.

"You ever had a tattoo before?" he asked.

"No," Sora answered truthfully. "But my husband has, I know the drill." Xemnas' eyes flicked up at the word 'husband' but he dutifully continued drawing. Was that the problem? Was he homophobic? Was that why he killed Riku? Sora almost let out a cry of pain as the needle pierced his skin. It hurt a lot more then he'd thought it was going to. He had a sudden new respect for Axel's pain tolerance level. The redhead had a sleeve of tattoos up each arm and across his whole back.

They sat in silence, but for the radio, as Xemnas worked on his wrist. How could Sora breach the subject? What was he supposed to do, ask more stupid questions? 'Hey, buddy. So tell me, are you planning on killing anyone anytime soon? The lead singer of The Organization, maybe?' Yeah. That would go over swimmingly.

"So…you're married, then?" Xemnas spoke up after nearly half an hour.

"Um…yeah," Sora answered. "For almost a year now."

"And you're gay?"

"Yes. Do you have a problem with that?" It probably wasn't a good idea to challenge a murderer with a super sharp needle to his wrist, but he couldn't eat his words.

Xemnas let out a deep chuckle. "No. It makes no difference to me, just as long as you have the money to pay for this."

After Sora assured him that he did have the money, they fell silent again. Sora was internally berating himself. Why hadn't he thought this through before showing up at the shop? Why had he been so impulsive? As Sora was paying for his newly finished tattoo, he was fighting back the urge to hit himself. He'd just wasted an opportunity because he'd been so damn hasty. He choked out a numb thank you and left the shop, hopping into Riku's Jeep, fighting the urge to cry. Dammit, he was no good at this investigation stuff! He started the car and headed back toward home.

Riku was in the pool when he got back to the house, and even thought Sora remotely felt like he didn't deserve to be near him because of his failure, he couldn't help but go into the backyard. He stripped off his shoes and socks and sat at the pool's edge, dangling his feet in the water. Riku swam over to him, resting his arms on the pool's edge next to Sora and looked up at him curiously.

"Where did you disappear to?" he asked. He had every right to ask, really, considering it was almost ten o' clock at night. It was his first time seeing Riku that day.

"Oh…um…I was getting a tattoo, actually." Riku laughed and smirked.

"You're kidding me! Did you really?" Sora showed him the bandage on the inside of his wrist, which caused Riku to laugh. "Wow, So. I didn't think you were the tattoo type." Sora shrugged. "It just seemed like a good idea," he lied.

"What did you get?"

"You'll just have to wait and see," Sora teased.

"Where did you get it done?" Riku asked. "You've gotta be sure these places are legit, So. You don't want to be catching diseases from the needles…"

"Especially because then you'd get 'em too, most likely," Sora teased. "I got it at this place called The Inked Heart…"

The smirk slipped off Riku's face and was almost immediately replace with a scowl. Sora was shocked at the change in attitude.

"What's wrong, Ri?" he asked.

"You shouldn't go there, Sora." It was a rare occasion when Riku actually called him Sora, and that usually meant he was being serious. "You should distance yourself from Xemnas Corazon as much as you can. He's not a good person to know, even casually." Maybe…maybe his efforts weren't for nothing. Maybe he would find out some important details from Riku himself.

"Why, Ri? What's so bad about him? He seemed all right…"

Riku shook his head and hoisted himself out of the pool. He walked inside and Sora followed in confusion. Once in the kitchen, Riku filled the teakettle and turned on the burner underneath it.

"It's not really a story I should tell you in the pool. It's a little more serious," he explained. "I'm gonna go get changed but I'll be down in a few minutes, and then I'll explain."

He left Sora sitting at the counter dumbfounded, watching the steady drip of water from the sink that Riku hadn't completely turned off. What had that been about?

Riku came back down the stairs five minutes later, his damp hair making a wet patch on the back of his shirt. He took a seat at the counter next to Sora and twisted on his barstool to look at the brunet.

"Xemnas Corazon…" Riku trailed off, shook his head and took a deep breath before continuing. "He's my cousin, actually." Sora had to fight to keep his face impassive. Riku's murderer was a member of his family? "The thing is…Xemnas has always been a little bit crazy and he had a…sort of fascination with me…"

Sora rolled his eyes, growing slightly irritated. "Stop beating around the bush, Riku."

"He convinced himself that he was in love with me and he stalked me and threw himself at me countless times," Riku bit out. "He was a few years older then me…one time when I was eight he tried to rape me…but Kadaj walked in and beat the shit out of him."

Sora was numb. Xemnas was completely insane. He'd tried to rape an eight year old? Who did that? How had Riku managed to get over something like that and lead a relatively normal life? He shuddered at the thought and took Riku's hand in his own. Riku squeezed it reassuringly and continued with his story.

"I had my first boyfriend in my freshman year of high school. Xemnas followed him home and threatened him and his family if he didn't leave me alone. When I went to HBU for college, he followed me to the city. It got so bad that I had to file for a restraining order. He'd stand in the courtyard outside my dorm at night and just stare at my window. Sometimes he would scream things about how I belonged to him or if he couldn't have me then no one could." Riku's eyes were distant and he unconsciously squeezed Sora's hand tighter and tighter. After a few moments, he seemed to come back to himself. He shook his head, sending wet wisps of hair flying.

"He's just not a good person, Sora. Promise me you'll stay away from him, okay?"

Sora nodded vehemently. "Yeah…of course. Of course I will."

The whistling of the kettle brought them back to the kitchen, making Sora jump a bit. Riku made them both a mug of tea and they moved to the living room. They didn't really speak, both lost in their own thoughts as they sipped their tea. Sora felt inexplicably closer to Riku then he had before, though he sort of wished he'd never discovered this part of Riku's life. The thought of it made him sick.

They sat there in silence long into the night.

--

A/N: Yup. I'm just gonna say, I'm sixteen so I can't (legally) get a tattoo not to mention I have an incredibly low pain tolerance (I cry when I get shots) so I have no idea how the actual tattoo process takes place. Be easy on me, guys. Okay, so this chapter, I'm not totally satisfied with, but I guess I'll let you guys decide. 10 reviews!


	10. Not Exactly Petite

Disclaimer: El videojuego de Kingdom Hearts 2 no es mio.

Chapter 9- 1 day remaining

_The pulsing beats thrummed throughout Sora's entire body, so much so as to where he could feel it in his heart. There were so many people crammed in the room; it was impossible not to be touching several people at once. The bodies thrashed under the flashing lights and pulsing music, and Sora, despite his earlier doubts, was having fun, even if it was in a slightly deranged way._

_His friends, Rikku, Yuna, and Paine had basically dragged him to a random nightclub with them, insisting that his presence was vital. The three girls had decided to go dancing and they'd employed Sora as their 'help'. They'd patiently explained to him the rules of being help. Apparently, they'd each have their own signals, such as a pull on the ear or biting their lip, and that would be Sora's signal to rescue them from someone "gross" as Rikku had so aptly put it. Apparently, he was safe for this because he was gay. He was safe for a lot of things because he was gay, and as of late, a lot of them seemed to involve doing something for the girls that straight guys couldn't because it could potentially get them all "hot and bothered". Again, Rikku's words._

_So far, he'd had to save Paine once, Yuna three times, and Rikku ten. The girl was a magnet for getting a bad dancing partner, probably because she deemed it necessary to show off all the skin she could and still not get arrested for public indecency. He wondered how she thought she could get a good guy like that, but then again, he'd come to realize long ago that women were absolutely crazy._

_Rikku's hand flashed up to her ear and gave it a slight tug. Sora sighed, took another drink of his beer, and set it on the bar, picking his way across the dance floor to where Rikku was watching some random guy flail in horror. Sora assumed he was meant to be dancing, but dismissed the thought. He had a job to do, after all. He tapped on the guy's shoulder and motioned to Rikku._

"_Can I cut in?" he yelled. The guy looked a bit putout, but nodded and made his way away from her. Rikku threw her arms around his neck as they slipped back into the beat of the song and danced._

"_Thank you, Sora!" she yelled, her blonde hair swaying crazily as they moved. "I don't even know what was happening there…I was scared." Sora laughed as she pulled a face that looked downright terrified and disturbed at the same time. They danced through the rest of that song and the next, Sora keeping an eye out just to make sure that Paine or Yuna didn't need him. Eventually, there was a tap on his shoulder and a voice asking to cut in. Sora glanced at Rikku, whose eyes were lit with excitement. He took that as a yes on her part and dutifully moved away, making to head back to the bar. A hand, however, caught his shoulder and kept him from moving._

"_I meant I wanted to dance with you," a voice said in his ear. It was a wonderful voice and Sora's body seized up at the sound of it. Sora glanced at Rikku, who was grinning cattily and nodding encouragingly. She turned to leave, and then turned back. She pointed at him and then thumbed her nose. He took that to mean it was his very own signal. Just in case he needed rescuing. He grinned and nodded at her before she turned and disappeared into the crowd. _

_A pair of hands grabbed his waist and pulled him back against the body behind him. He almost gasped at the sudden movement, but caught himself. Keep it cool. He moved his hips with the beat, in the same time as the person behind him. He was acutely aware that he had no idea what this person looked like or anything about him, but for some reason, he really didn't care. All that mattered was the bass thumping in his ear and the body moving in time with his, the hands on his hips not really guiding, just touching. Somewhere along the way, he leaned his head back against his partner's shoulder, proving him to be a lot taller then Sora himself._

_He leaned down, his lips against Sora's ear, touching in a teasingly delicious way as he spoke. "You never called me." Sora froze for a split second before the hands prompted him to move again. "I was extremely disappointed, you know." He could now picture his dancing partner exactly, the bright turquoise eyes and long silver hair. The absolutely yummy physique. Riku._

"_I wasn't sure…" Sora said, loudly enough to where Riku could hear him._

"_What's not to be sure about? I wrote my number on your arm and told you to call me. That's pretty straight forward." He didn't sound annoyed or angry, more like he was amused._

"_Yeah, well," Sora sighed, feeling slightly ridiculous by his insecurities. "I thought it might be a joke…"_

"_A joke? Why would such a thing be a joke?"_

"_Be serious, Riku," Sora sighed, finally stopping the dancing and turning to look up at the taller male. "Guys that look like you don't go for people that look like me. You're way out of my league." Riku blinked in shock, before a smirk manifested on his features. His arms came around Sora's back and pulled their bodies flat together._

"_Listen to me, Sora," he murmured, his mouth coming to rest against Sora's ear. "This is not a joke. You entice me, okay? I want to know you." Sora's entire body was aching for the silver-haired male by now and he knew he had to make his escape, lest he do something he would regret._

"_All right," he said, nodding his head. "Are you listening? 555-2673. You call me."_

_Riku's eyes widened slightly and Sora raised a hand, thumbing his nose. Hardly ten seconds later, all three girls converged upon him, pulling him away from a stunned Riku and back into the crowd toward the front door._

Out of all the ways to wake up, having your lover tempt you out of it with kisses was probably the best way ever. Sora opened his eyes to the sight of bright turquoise inches away. When Riku deemed him awake enough and pulled away, Sora wrapped his arms around his neck, not quite wanting to release him.

"What are you doing home?" he murmured sleepily. "Aren't you supposed to be in the studio?" Riku laughed, placing another kiss on Sora's lips.

"I've been in the studio all day and you have been sleeping all day. It's five in the afternoon, you know."

"How did you get up and go to the studio?" Sora demanded. "We didn't exactly sleep last night, like, at all."

Riku nodded. "I know, but I knew I had to get in there and get everything done so I could spend some time with you before we left."

Sora smiled, realizing Riku was right. He hadn't seen much of him in the last few days, which was strange after he'd spent an entire year in a Riku drought. Still, the thought that he could have Riku for years to come if he was able to save him was enough to make Sora leave his husband be. Riku let his weight off his arms, moving to rest his body on top of Sora's laying his head on the brunet's chest. Sora moved one of his hands to stroke through Riku's hair, the other poking him in the side.

"Warn me next time. I don't want to be squished to death." Riku lifted his head, his eyes narrowing as he glared playfully.

"What exactly are you implying?" he demanded.

"That you're not exactly petite?" Sora said innocently.

"Fuck you," Riku mumbled, letting his head fall back onto Sora's chest.

"If you insist," Sora sniggered. Riku laughed, but shook his head.

"No sex when I'm this tired. Maybe later," he said, his voice almost dropping to a whisper. Sora nodded seriously, his hand continuing to stroke Riku's hair, the silky tresses perfect and smooth beneath his fingers. This had been one of the things he'd really missed. Just the two of them, lazing around, talking about things that weren't really all that important, teasing back and forth.

"We finished recording," Riku informed him. "The rest have decided we should go out for a celebratory dinner tonight. We have to be at the restaurant at six, so I shouldn't really be falling asleep." He said this as if he knew what he should be doing but didn't really care. "Do you think we can just bail and I can sleep on you for a few hours?"

Sora laughed, plucking up a piece of Riku's hair and twisting it between his fingers.

"Believe me babe, I'd choose being smooshed under you for hours any day, but I don't think you'll have a very comfortable time living with your band mates if you bail on them."

Riku let out a long sigh. "You're right. I guess I should hop in the shower…" He pushed himself up on his arms and Sora was disappointed at the loss of heat and contact.

"I'll join you, then," he said with a smile. At Riku's tortured look he laughed. "I won't seduce you, I promise. This will strictly be about getting clean."

"Your mere presence is enough to make me want you," Rikku informed him, clambering off the bed. "With you all slick and naked…well, I just won't be able to stop myself. Find your own shower."

Sora laughed, collapsing back on the bed as Riku made his way into the bathroom. He waited almost ten minutes before pulling himself up as well and going to the bathroom in the guest bedroom down the hall. He'd already started up the shower and stripped before he realized there was no shampoo. Letting out a groan, he wrapped a towel around his waist and made his way down the hall. He pushed the door open to the bathroom in his bedroom, the steam hitting him full on. He pushed aside the shower curtain and reached to grab his shampoo, resulting in Riku letting out a yell and almost toppling head over heels.

"Shit, So!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

"Sorry," Sora smiled sheepishly. "I needed my shampoo…" Riku rolled his eyes and grabbed the bottle off the shelf, shoving it into Sora's hand.

"You thrive on torturing me, don't you? You couldn't have put any damn clothes on?"

Sora laughed. "Sorry." He pushed the shower curtain closed and made his way back toward his own shower, the heat of the water having effectively steamed up the whole bathroom. He took his own sweet time in the bathroom, wrapping a towel around his waist and setting back to his room when he was done. Riku was lying on the bed when entered, an arm thrown across his eyes, dozing lightly. He looked relaxed and peaceful, which was enough to make Sora smile. He turned away, looking through the closet for something to wear, basing his decision off Riku's clothes. In blue jeans, a black zip-up shirt and a yellow vest, his lover seemed to be dressed casually enough, so Sora followed in suit. As he was pulling on his own jeans, the phone on the bedside table rang, jerking Riku from his impromptu nap. He didn't even bother picking up the phone, choosing instead to press the speakerphone button.

"I'm listening," he threw out as greeting, leaving Sora to roll his eyes as he pulled Riku's favorite blue shirt over his head. He wasn't quite sure why Riku liked it so much, it was just a long sleeved sky blue t-shirt, but he always insisted that it was his favorite.

"Hey Riku. Is my brother home?"

"Hey, Roxas," Sora spoke up, grabbing his shoes from the corner, where he'd haphazardly kicked them the night before and plopping himself on the bed to put them on. "What's going on?"

"Damn, am I on speakerphone? I hate it when you do that, Riku, it's annoying as hell."

Riku merely laughed from his position at the bathroom counter where he was applying eyeliner with apparent concentration.

"He doesn't care," Sora informed Roxas. "What's up?"

"I was calling to find out if you have any idea where we're going tonight. Axel refuses to tell me because he enjoys being a difficult asshole."

Sora bit back a laugh as he heard unintelligible, yet obvious protesting in the background.

"I don't know where we're going except out to dinner. Riku's dressed pretty casual, though, so it shouldn't be anything over the top. Of course, he is currently applying his guyliner and I'm wondering why, exactly, he's taking this extra step whereas he usually only does it when he plans on being Riku Silver, badass lead singer of The Organization rather then Riku Silver, modest husband to adorable ole me."

Roxas laughed. "We'll be in public. They don't belong to us when we venture past the closed doors of home. Once we enter the real world, they belong to the fans." Sora chuckled, though not especially happy. It was too true for comfort. Still, what could he do about it?

"Yeah…well, if you don't know what's going on I guess I better go. I'll see you later, Sora."

"Bye, Rox." He lifted the phone and set it back down to hang up before entering the bathroom to brush his teeth. Riku had moved on to running a brush through his tangled wet hair and he shot Sora a sideways glance as he did so.

"Does it bother you?" he asked curiously. Sora paused with his toothbrush halfway to his mouth, asking, "What?" before beginning to brush his teeth. The toothpaste tasted like peppermint. Yummy.

"That we can't go out without someone recognizing me. That I basically belong to the public?" Sora thought about it, leaving them in silence for a minute before he spit of the toothpaste in his mouth.

"I don't know. Most of the time I don't really care, but sometimes I guess it bothers me a little bit." He stuck his toothbrush back in his mouth(!) to avoid elaborating, brushing his teeth with a new sort of vengeance. Riku was silent for a few minutes and finally Sora couldn't help but explain himself. "I mean, I guess every once in a while I get annoyed by the people who are convinced that they're your best friend because they 'know everything about you' or the ones who throw themselves at you at every given moment. I don't know how it doesn't annoy you, in all honesty."

Riku shrugged. "I don't know…I guess I'm just used to it. I know it's nothing real and I just keep a polite coolness. I never encourage anything, so it's not like you can actually be jealous, right?"

"I'm not really jealous, Ri. I know, at the end of the day, it's me that you chose and me that you'll go to bed thinking about. I guess I just…well, let's put it this way. What if I had at least ten people come up to me a day, acting like I was God's gift to mankind, offering to bear my children or take me to bed? Wouldn't that bother you a little bit?" Riku frowned, setting his hairbrush down on the counter as Sora finished brushing his teeth and rinsed his mouth out.

"Yeah, I guess it would. Sorry." Sora dismissed his apology with a wave of his hand.

"It's no big deal, Riku. You can't control it; it's just something I've come to deal with myself. It's part of the package of being with you, and I'm willing to deal with it because you're worth it and I love you." He rose on his tiptoes and planted a soft kiss on Riku's lips before turning and making his way out of the bathroom.

"Come on, slow poke. We're going to be late."

--

A/N: Yup. This chapter wasn't especially mind-blowing, but I thought it had a few important factors, such as the opening scene and Riku and Sora's heart to heart just now. Let me know what you think, kay? 10 reviews! Hm…ten is fun number, but I wonder if I should up it to thirteen because I'm a dork like that…?

(!) Haha…when I originally typed this, I accidentally wrote "in his mother" instead of "in his mouth". When checking for typos just now, I noticed and laughed for a good while. Thought you ought to know.


	11. Demyx the Manwhore

A/N: Yeah...so I decided to post both these chapters because I felt bad that they were both basically filler. So...yeah. Don't be too mad at me, please. On another note, my friend Nic got a sinus infection and he came to school today high on vicoden. It was pretty friggen hilarious, because he was all spacey and talking weird. At one point he was like, "I can't spell anything...I just keep adding extra 'd's to like...everything...

Disclaimer: El videojuego de Kingdom Hearts 2 no es mio. I don't own TGI Fridays, either. The song 'Friend Like That' belongs to Hawk Nelson.

Chapter 10- 2 days remaining

Dinner ended up being at TGI Fridays, which in retrospect, was probably a good thing considering how loud their group could get. The restaurant in and of itself promised obnoxiousness from all around.

They sat around their table, beers raised in a toast to the new album being finished. They hadn't been recognized yet, so that was a plus, but it was really only a matter of time. Especially because a song came blasting over the radio, which made Demyx gasp out loud.

"I love this song!" he exclaimed and instantly started crooning along. _"I'm not a superman, I never had a plan, I never said that I was more then that."_

Riku, Marly, and Axel chimed in with a loud, "HEY!"

"_I'm not a wannabe, I'm who I wanna be and I intend to be how you created me. I, I need somebody on the inside, I, I want somebody who can set me free." _Riku started singing along, harmonizing and basically showing off his vocal skills. _"You're not the only one that feels like this I need a few others around me. Hey, let me hear you sing make some noise if you feel this way, hey, you've got a friend like that. Hey, scream and shout, if you know what I'm talking about…"_

Roxas and Sora exchanged exasperated looks. They were beginning to draw attention and once it started it wouldn't stop. Still, they continued to sing along and eventually, Naminé sang along too, even though her voice was far from desirable. They were having fun, being obnoxious and really just hanging out together for the first time in months. Riku was half laughing, half singing, his arm thrown over Marly's shoulders as they sang to each other in overly loud voices. Naminé was giggling madly, elbowing Roxas in the side, but even Roxas' moody capabilities couldn't stand up to the power of the Organization's silliness. He was smiling as well, though admittedly he rolled his eyes every few seconds. The song mercifully came to an end and the patrons in tables around them applauded and cheered good-naturedly. Sora was relieved they didn't seem to recognize them, or at least had enough respect not to disturb their dinner.

Two girls approached the table, the bolder of the two tapping Naminé on the shoulder. The blonde looked surprised, turning to look at the two girls. The one who had tapped her leaned down and spoke quietly to her. A moment later, Naminé laughed out loud and shook her head.

"How old are you girls?" she asked.

"Eighteen," they answered in unison. Naminé wrinkled her nose.

"Ew, don't bother wasting your time on them," she advised, waving her hand around the table. "They're all almost thirty."

"Almost thirty!" Riku exclaimed. "I am twenty-seven, dammit, that is not almost thirty!"

"Yes it is," Sora informed his sulking husband.

"We're okay with older guys," the second girl spoke up boldly. Naminé nodded and turned to look at them, a small smile building on her features.

"Well, boys, what do you say?" In unison, Riku, Marly, and Sora all raised their hands, showing off their wedding rings.

"I'm married," they quipped, voices blending into one.

Axel and Roxas shrugged. "We're gay," Roxas explained.

Everyone turned to look at Demyx, who was grinning as if Christmas had come early.

"Hell, I swing whichever way suits me for the moment," he declared. "Hello ladies." They waved at him, giggling a bit. Demyx stood from the table and crossed around, his arms coming to rest on the waists of both girls, one on either side of him. "I will see you guys later," he said with a grin, leading the girls away from them. Their table was completely silent for a split second before they all burst into laughter at the same time.

"He is such a man-whore!" Marluxia gasped between his laughter.

Naminé was shaking her head, looking the tiniest bit disapproving. "He wonders why he can't find love when he's spending all his time having random flings and sleeping around. I'm surprised he's not one giant STD by now."

"That's Dem's decision," Axel shrugged. "I just hope he checks those girls for ID. I'm not quite sure they're nineteen. Wouldn't want him getting arrested for statutory rape, would we?"

"We'd be out a guitarist," Riku agreed. "Naminé could take lead and I could do back up…but, no offense Nami, I don't think you could play some of the stuff Demyx does for us."

"None taken," Naminé said serenely. "I probably couldn't."

"You guys do realize you're making plans to replace Demyx when he gets arrested for sleeping with minors, right?" Sora asked uncertainly.

"Uh…yeah, basically," Marluxia said while Axel nodded thoughtfully.

"You are terrible friends, you know that don't you?" Again Axel nodded and Marluxia answered.

"Yeah. We know. But really, it would be his own damn fault. Whore."

"I am never calling any of you to place my bail," Roxas declared, taking a long drink and setting the cup back down with a loud clunk.

"What makes you think we'd pay it anyway?" Marluxia teased.

"I know someone who damn well better pay my bail if I need it," he muttered, shooting Axel a death glare. The redhead avoided looking at his boyfriend, studying his hands as if he'd never seen them before.

"Ah…my hands are starting to split again," he said conversationally. Riku stifled a laugh and looked at Axel's hands as well.

"Yeah…they should callous pretty well. You don't want to tear your hands up…" Roxas rolled his eyes and threw a balled up napkin at the pair, who continued their conversation obviously trying not to laugh.

"I'd pay your bail, Roxas," Sora assured his brother.

"Thanks Sora, it's nice to know that someone in this group of idiots loves me."

Axel wasn't able to ignore this statement. His head whipped around to stare at Roxas incredulously, his jaw dropping just the slightest.

"Aw, Roxy, you can't be serious. You know I love you." Roxas' eyes narrowed and he looked away without a word. Axel spluttered incoherently for a moment before Roxas turned back to look at him.

"Yeah, I know. I just like giving you grief sometimes."

"You're a bitch," Axel informed him. Roxas grinned at him and smacked a kiss on his cheek.

A minute later, Demyx came rushing over looking panicked, gripping Marluxia's shoulders tightly.

"What's up, Demyx?" he asked, shrugging the blonde's hands off of him.

"You two gave me a ride and I need to get the hell out of here now. We've got to go!"

"Demyx, what happened?" Naminé asked, sounding concerned.

"Were those girls jailbait?" Axel joked.

"More like deathbait!" Demyx looked over his shoulder nervously. "They had boyfriends they didn't bother to mention. Big boyfriends…with muscles the size of Axel's ego!"

"I resent that," the redhead muttered as Marluxia burst into laughter.

"Damn, Dem. They're high school students, college at most, how scary can they be?"

"Seriously, you do not want to hang around and find out. Marly, let's go!" Marluxia sighed and rolled his eyes.

"All right, fine. Come on Nami."

"I've got the bill," Riku offered as Marluxia reached for his wallet.

"Ah, thanks Riku. We'll see you guys tomorrow."

Demyx ran out the door as fast as his legs could carry him. Marluxia and Naminé followed at a slower pace behind him, leaving Roxas, Axel, Riku, and Sora in a sort of shocked silence.

Riku was the first to speak. "Sometimes…I think Demyx is a moron and I just want to smack him. Other times I know he's a moron and I just don't resist the urge. Right now, I'm somewhere in between."

"Completely understandable," Axel conceded with a nod.

"We should do something!" Roxas blurted. Sora leaned back in his chair, raising an eyebrow and Riku stifled a laugh.

"Like what, babe?" Axel asked, studying his boyfriend with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't know," Roxas flushed. "Something exciting. Something spontaneous."

"Roxas…what spontaneous act could we possibly perform at…" Sora checked his watch. "Nine o' clock at night?"

"That's exactly what I'm talking about!" Roxas exclaimed. "You two are getting prematurely old…"

"Prematurely old?" Riku asked with a raised eyebrow. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? You two are the same age as we are."

"Yeah, but you're turning into a predictable boring married couple," Axel interjected, suddenly picking up on Roxas' excitement.

"We are a married couple," Sora pointed out while Riku grew more offended.

"What do you mean boring? We're not boring!"

"Yes," Axel disagreed. "Yes you are. I'll bet you'll head home, maybe Riku will swim for a while…"

Roxas nodded. "Sora will spend some time drawing, reading, or watching TV…"

"And you'll both be in bed by eleven," the two finished in unison.

Sora was a bit uncomfortable with how right they were. That was generally how they spent their nights…but that didn't mean they were boring, did it? He glanced at Riku at of the corner of his eye. Were they boring, or just comfortable? Or was that the same thing?

"All right," Riku said rising to the challenge, just as Sora suspected he would.

"Lets do something spontaneous, then." After paying the bill, they left to go be spontaneous.

--

The two were on the Watching Stone again, as it seemed to be where she spent most of her time these days.

"You know, your devotion to them really could be considered stalkerish," he teased, prodding her side gently. She scowled at him good-naturedly.

"It's not like I watch everything they do!" the brunette defended. "I give them privacy where it is needed." He rolled his eyes and leaned back on his hands.

"You know, I think they're starting the rounds soon. If your task isn't accomplished this time, you have to let it go. You can't send Sora back to the past twice, it's just too dangerous. We aren't supposed to be messing with the lives of the living. They're going to notice, eventually, that Riku has gone missing."

She sighed, tucking a loose tendril of hair behind her ear before letting her hands rest in her lap.

"I know. I just…I had to do something for them. Riku, he spent all his time here, watching over Sora with that depressed look on his face. He never left…and I had the power to give him his love, not to mention his life, back. I had the power to help them…"

He raised a hand, massaging his temples.

"That's exactly the problem, babe! You enacted a power that no one should have! You sent Sora back and gave him that chance. You put Riku back in his living body! That is really impressive, really dangerous magic, especially for someone who is dead. If they find out you can do things like that they'll never leave you alone."

"The risk was worth it," she insisted firmly. "A love like the one those two share doesn't happen often. It should be protected and it should flourish…"

"Those types of decisions aren't up to you make…and I really think that this won't work. This is all going to come back and blow up in your face and then it will have been for nothing. Just…stop it now. Leave them be and let them figure things out for themselves. If it happens, it will be a miracle. If it doesn't, which is extremely likely, the thread of time will go back to the way it was supposed to be and they'll both have had their year. There's nothing left that you can do." She sighed and ducked her head solemnly.

"You're right. There…really is nothing else I can do. At least not now…but I have faith. I have faith in them. I think they can do it. I think they can be happy for however many years they can, even if I don't influence things any more."

He smiled, looking relieved. "Good. So you'll stop coming here then?" She nodded and allowed him to pull her to her feet and away from the Watching Stone.

--

"I hate you. I don't know why I let you talk me in to this," Sora grumbled, staring glumly at the bars of the holding cell. Riku was slumped on the bench next to him, fixing his ice-cold glare on his redheaded best friend.

"I'm going to kill you," was all he said.

"Oh come on, it was fun, wasn't it?" Roxas protested, looking mischievous, a face that was commonly used by Axel himself.

"You're a bad influence on my brother," Sora informed him.

The sound of footsteps made them fall silent and a moment later, Marluxia appeared, led by a guard.

"Well, well, well boys," he grinned. "Causing trouble, I see. You realize you owe me a lot of money for your bail, right?"

"Don't worry Marly," Riku growled as the guard unlocked the door. "Axel and Roxas will pay you back every penny."

"Aw…Riku!"

"Not a word," Riku groaned. "Not a word."

As they approached the front doors, the very same guard who'd just let them out spoke up.

"Hey…you guys are in that band aren't you…the one that's playing at the HB Arena tomorrow night."

Riku nodded wearily. "Yeah, that's us."

"I know you're probably not in the best of moods right now, but would you mind signing something for my daughter? She's a huge fan…"

"Sure thing!" Axel chirped, still chipper even after being in a jail cell for the past two hours. The three present members of the band signed a piece of paper dutifully and they made their way outside.

"I'm going to murder you in your sleep. Both of you," Riku vowed, sounding dead serious as he went.

"Sleep with one eye open. I think he's serious," Axel muttered to the blonde.

They quiet night was filled with Roxas' laughter as they made their way back home.

--

A/N: Yup…so I admit it. Except for the scene with mystery woman, that was complete and total filler. I just…started writing and by the end, nothing had actually come from it. So yeah…I admit it. I just hope you'll be lenient. Oh, also, I did my best with the lyrics to 'Friend Like That' but I might've been wrong in a few places. Forgive me.


	12. New Threats

A/N: For those of you who sent in reviews and haven't gotten a reply yet, I'm really sorry. I've been busy, bu I promise you I will reply soon. Things have just doubled up on me considering I just got a job at the library (from where I post all the time) and I just bought Chain of Memories and that has been...distracting me. So, again, I'm really sorry for the delay and all that, but I'm doing the best I can considering the circumstances.

Disclaimer: El videojuego de Kingdom Hearts 2 no es mio. The song 'Dancing Through Sunday' belongs to AFI. I don't own Olive Garden either. That would be fucking awesome tho…I'd totally gorge myself on the breadsticks…yummy.

Chapter 11- 12 hours remaining

"Aw, shit, that isn't right…Axel, play something. Anything." The redhead nodded, obediently plucking at the strings of his bass, playing a familiar tune. The guy working the soundboard frowned and shook his head, fiddling with different knobs.

The time being one thirty, they'd been hanging around the Hollow Bastion Arena for a good five hours, basically getting everything ready. Right now they were running a sound check, something they'd undoubtedly have to do three or more times before the show that night.

"Um…let's see if that helps…Riku, check the mic." Riku obediently started singing, but the bass was too loud to hear him. The sound guy cussed and began playing with the knobs again, until he finally threw his hands up in exasperation.

"This isn't going to work. Why don't you just…play a song and I'll work on it while you do that?" he suggested. They nodded easily, picking up their respective instruments. Demyx started with a quick riff, which led up to Riku singing and the rest of the band joining in. Riku's voice could be heard above them, but just barely. It was slowly gaining volume, though, as the sound guy worked his magic.

"When you join me in this dance, this dance of misery. Cradled in imposs-impossibility. Swooning, I am swept away…"

His voice disappeared under the music for a minute and the sound guy cursed, working to fix it.

"_Start to bleed!"_ his voice came back in.

Demyx and Axel sang into their mics. _"Oh we dance through misery!"_

Riku chimed back in. _"and we dance on and we dance on!"_

"_Oh we dance through misery!"_

"_Trapped in the arms of misery, oh!"_

Sora leaned back in his seat, glancing sideways at Roxas, whose eyes were glazed over as if he wasn't really there. Sora also had thousands of thoughts careening through his mind. The most prominent, though lay in what had happened the night before. It wasn't supposed to happen that way. They weren't supposed to have been arrested. Originally, they hadn't been caught and everything had been okay. So why had it been different last night? Were things changing because Sora was changing them himself? He wasn't supposed to have gotten a tattoo and he most certainly wasn't supposed to have found out about Xemnas. He was a completely different person now then he had been a year ago, and somehow that was affecting the outcome of things. That gave him hope. Maybe Riku wouldn't die this time because of that. There had to be a reason Sora had been sent back, and if it wasn't to save Riku, he didn't know what it was.

He was snapped from his thoughts by a hand snatching his wrist up. He blinked in surprise, looking at his brother in curiosity.

"When the hell did you get this?" he asked, staring accusingly at the tattoo.

"Um…two days ago?" Sora said uncertainly. Why did Roxas care, it was his skin. He snorted and rolled his eyes.

"You're a dork, Sora."

"Yeah, I know," he sighed, throwing his hand up to his heart as if this were tragic news.

They watched the stage now, seeing that the band had finished their sound check and were now acting like idiots on the stage. Riku was crooning a tune into the mic and Marluxia and Naminé were creating a beat for it as Demyx and Axel tangoed across the stage dramatically.

"They're all idiots," Roxas sighed affectionately.

"It sorta makes you worry about them being on the road together with no one to keep them in line. They even bring out the worst in Naminé," Sora murmured in agreement. When his stomach rumbled he decided enough was enough and he set off toward the stage. As he was only a few rows from the front, it didn't take long. He came to a stop right in front of Riku, staring up at his husband who continued to sing, not noticing him. Axel dipped Demyx so low that his hair brushed the ground and Sora spoke up.

"Hey Ax, Roxas says to tell you that he's extremely horny and he needs your help." The redhead instantly dropped Demyx and hopped off the stage in a fluid motion. Demyx sat on the ground, rubbing the back of his head and pouting as Riku and Marluxia burst into laughter.

"He did not say that!" Naminé insisted with a faint blush, staring at Sora as if begging him to tell her so.

"No, he didn't. I don't really think it matters, though." He gestured over his shoulder and turned to look himself, where, surely enough, their friends had become AkuRoku, the nickname they'd applied to the two whenever it was impossible to tell where one ended and the other began.

"Why, out of curiosity, did you get them started?" Marluxia asked. "We won't be able to get them apart for at least an hour now.

"Precisely," Sora grinned. "You've all been working since eight this morning and with Axel out of commission for at least an hour, how much work can you possibly get done without him?" A wicked grin was splitting across Riku's face now as well.

"You're a genius, So."

"I know. I can come up with many nefarious plots when I'm hungry enough. On that note…Riku, lets go get something to eat."

Riku obediently jumped off the stage and started down the center aisle, taking Sora's hand. As they passed AkuRoku, Riku tugged a lock of Axel's hair.

"Don't have sex in the dressing room. I don't want to think about what might be on that couch later," he instructed.

Sora giggled. "I don't know if they'll even make it out of the room, Ri. Maybe you can make that some sort of contest at the show tonight. Whoever can guess where Axel and Roxas had sex gets to come backstage," he teased.

"Yeah, I'm sure that would go over well." Riku rolled his eyes and pushed through the back door heading toward where his car was parked.

"Sora?" Riku said questioningly after they had driven in silence for a good twenty minutes.

"Hmm, what?" he asked, tearing his eyes away from the window to look at his husband.

"Are you all right? You seem a bit distant…"

"I'm fine, Ri. Just thinking…"

"Oh…well, I was just making sure. You know, because I wasn't sure whether or not you were mad."

Sora blinked in confusion. "Mad? About what?"

Riku shrugged, his eyes never leaving the road, suddenly the picture perfect image of a driver. Either there was a cop around or Riku was avoiding looking at him. Something told Sora it was probably the latter.

"Well…you know…that I won't be here for our anniversary." Realization suddenly hit Sora like a brick to the face. Their anniversary…their anniversary! That was it! That was the answer.

"You always said if we could make it through the first year we could make it forever," he whispered, letting the shock soak through him. Riku had died five days before their one-year anniversary…and Sora had been sent back five days before Riku was to die. He was…completing their year. He wasn't there to save Riku; he was there so they could make it through a year together, signifying their ability to make it together forever. It made sense.

"Sora?"

He snapped back to attention, trying to fight back the pure emotion of finally figuring out what he was there for.

"No, Ri, I'm not mad. I know you love me whether we are together or not. I know you have to work, I understand.

"Are you sure?" Riku asked uncertainly, pulling into the parking lot of an Olive Garden.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Don't worry about it, really."

"Sora?"

"Yeah, Ri?"

He looked at his husband, who was looking completely and totally serious.

"I know that I'm not really…all that emotional or anything most of the time…but you know I love you, right?" Sora was confused. Where had this come from?

"I know Riku. I love you too." He grinned and nodded. "Good. That's good. Come on, let's go eat."

Sora got out of the car in confusion, following Riku into the restaurant.

(this is a page break, just in case I forget to add it. XD)

They'd been approached by no less then twenty people since the time they'd first sat down. Sora could see that even Riku was getting slightly annoyed, but he had a part to play, and play it he did. Sora ate quietly, nibbling a breadstick as he watched the newest conquest. The girl was probably about sixteen and she was practically salivating as she spoke to Riku and informed him about how amazing the band was.

"I'm, like, in love with your voice!" she gushed.

"Um…thank you?" Riku said, obviously wondering how one replied to such a statement. If Sora had to hear her voice one more time, it was likely he'd drive his salad fork through his own ears, and that probably wouldn't fare too well for his life. He dropped his fork back on his plate and stood.

"I'll be right back, Ri," he sighed, making his way away from the table before Riku could reply. In the bathroom, he splashed his face with water and tried to calm down. Part of Riku's job was being nice to the fans and Sora knew he really did enjoy talking to them. He was just being selfish. Riku didn't belong to him, he belonged to the world. He knew that, but it was starting to bug him that he couldn't get a moment alone with his husband, even when it was less then eleven hours until his potential death. If Riku knew, would he act the same way he was now? Sora wouldn't tell him, of course, but the curiosity stayed nonetheless. How would Riku react to his impending doom? He'd probably think Sora had been dreaming again.

…Damn. Less then eleven hours to think of a plan. Telling the police wouldn't work because Sora had no proof to confirm his "suspicions" and the damn police usually didn't act until someone was already dead. _(A/N: No offense to any police or family of police. I know that they are an important part of our society and we owe them a great debt for putting their lives on the line for us. Sora, however, doesn't.) _

There was no way that he could convince Riku to miss the show. He could try stalling after the show, but Xemnas would likely wait around as long as it took. He could throw a fit about the fans…he could insist that Riku leave them alone…but that would most likely just piss him off rather then having any good effects… He could make Riku wait in the studio and pull the car around…but that was still too risky. Shit…shit. He had no idea what to do. What could he do? Why would Xemnas want to kill Riku if he was so obsessed? It didn't really make sense.

He started back toward the table, coming to complete stop as the scene before him unfolded. Xemnas was there, standing inches in front of Riku, who was also on his feet looking livid. This was another one of those things that had never happened.

"Get the hell out of here, Xemnas!" Riku snarled.

"Oh, Riku, is that any way to treat your family?"

"You're no family of mine," he hissed angrily. "I have a fucking restraining order on you…"

"Language, Riku. There are young children around," he taunted softly. A waitress approached them, looking nervous.

"Excuse me, sir," she addressed Xemnas. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"I'll leave when I'm good and ready. I'd like to finish speaking to my cousin."

Riku looked ready to hit someone and Xemnas looked completely calm and unruffled. His fingers drifted across the edge of the tablecloth as he stared daringly into Riku's eyes.

"I've come to inform you that I give up, Riku," he said. "I've decided that you're not worth my trouble…however, I did meet the most delightful young man just the other day." Sora felt his heart seize up just for a moment as Riku's eyes widened and flashed over to look at Sora.

"He had the most captivating blue eyes…and I've decided that he will be mine." His voice had lowered to a whisper, so low that only Sora, Riku, and the waitress could hear, though the entire restaurant had gone silent and was watching the ordeal in interest. "His heart belongs to another, though…but worry not. I shall…dispose of the problem."

With that, he left the restaurant. They stood there in silence for a long time until the patrons slowly returned to their meals. Sora was almost hyperventilating. Xemnas wanted to kill Riku because of Sora. Riku was in the way…oh god. If Riku died that night, he could never forgive himself. Because if Riku died…it would, without a doubt, be all Sora's fault.

--

A/N: O.0 Yup…so there you have it. I don't really know what to say about this chapter because I'm extremely tired right now. Man, I have the biggest craving for Olive Garden now…10 reviews, blah-di-blah.


	13. Jumping on Harpo's Couch

A/N: Dudes, I'm extremely sorry about my lack of being here-ness over the last two weeks. Work is eating my life. I've got more excuses, but something tells me you really don't care...XD

Disclaimer: El videojuego de Kingdom Hearts 2 no es mio.

Chapter 12- 2 hours remaining

If one good thing came of Xemnas' impromptu visit earlier, it was that security had been tripled for the show that night. Riku was never without at least one bodyguard since they'd returned to the studio and they had reported what happened. It annoyed Riku to no end, but he dealt with it because Sora begged him to. The extra security helped ease the brunet's anxiety, but he wouldn't be completely relaxed until after he was sure Riku would survive the night. A condition Riku had to accept that bodyguard was that Sora would have one as well. He too was worried about the threat, but he seemed to focus more on the fact that Sora wasn't safe instead of his own safety. He had some crazy idea that Sora might be snatched away if he wasn't being watched every second.

The show had just started and the crowd was pumped. There were three security guards on each side of the stage and a few at the front where the crowd surfers were pulled out and released to find their way back to the crowd. Riku was talking to the crowd animatedly and there were deafening screams, which made Sora wince. He'd forgotten how loud concerts could be.

Roxas stood at his side and they watched the show, making fun of the various members every once in a while. At one point, a fan climbed on the fence that divided the crowd from the front of the stage and reached towards Demyx, who leaned down and touched her hand. She looked like her entire life was complete, which was pretty damn funny. Another time, Riku jumped off the stage and climbed up on the fence, nearly being swallowed by the crowd. A braver person tried to yank him into the crowd, but two security guards who seized him around the waist and practically shoved him back up on the stage saved him. There was a large and wild mosh pit going on in the crowd and Sora winced again.

"You know, I just don't understand mosh pits," he yelled to Roxas. "Why in the world would anyone voluntarily want to get the hell beaten out of them?" Roxas shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe they think it makes them look cool or something. Maybe they're sadists and they enjoy pain?" Sora almost choked at the thought.

"Ew. Tidus and Wakka like mosh pits. Do you think they're sadists?"

Roxas' eyebrows shot up into his hair. "I don't know…I can't really see Yuna allowing Tidus to tie her up…Lulu, on the other hand…that chick is straight out freaky. Not to mention the fact that Wakka would let her do anything if it would keep her happy with him."

Sora had a fleeting image of Lulu and Wakka before he felt severely ill and wished he'd never brought up the subject in the first place. It was enough to destroy an innocent's mind.

"Ew. Lets not talk about this anymore, huh?" Roxas nodded quickly, obviously having seen the same mental picture as Sora. The twin connection was a terrible thing sometimes.

The song they played came to an end and Riku waited for the screams to die down before he began to speak.

"Now…we're doing something a little bit different tonight. We usually don't let Axel have a microphone unless he's singing because he's kind of a flirt…" There were loud screams from the crowd. "But he's promised he'll be good if I let him do something."

Sora and Roxas frowned, exchanging a glance. What the hell were they doing? Axel took off his bass and handed it over to Riku, exchanging it for the microphone.

"Don't touch the damn tuning pegs, Riku. The last time you touched my bass it took hours for me to get it to sound right again," Axel warned with a grin. Riku shrugged, returning the grin. It was obviously just a ploy for the audience, but they didn't seem to care and screamed loudly anyway. As if someone had hit him over the back of the head with it, Sora suddenly remembered what was going on. How could he have forgotten something like this? Maybe because of the traumatic event that happened later that very same night. He watched, trying to hide the grin slowly building the way across his face.

"Now," Axel spoke to the crowd as if he were talking to each and every one of them individually. "Some of you might know this, some of you might not, but I've been dating this guy for nearly a year now. About…eight months, I'd say." He was interrupted by loud cheers from the crowd, though Sora was sure he heard a few disappointed groans amongst the screams.

"Yeah, thanks. He's a great guy and I love him very much. Don't worry guys, I'm not gonna pull a Tom Cruise and jump on Harpo's couch or anything…but I kinda want you to meet my Roxy."

Roxas' eyes had become as big as dinner plates by this point and he shook his head vehemently at Axel, despite the encouraging screams from the crowd. The redhead laughed and waved for Roxas to come out onto the stage.

"There is no way in hell I'm going out there. I am going to kill him," Roxas hissed.

"Aw, he's being shy," Axel teased. "Come on Roxy, the nice fans won't bite. Tell him you won't bite, nice fans."

The nice fans chorused in unison that they didn't bite, the words melting into more screams at the end. Axel sighed and shook his head.

"All right fine. I didn't want to do this…Sora, bring your brother out to meet the nice fans, why don't you?" Roxas shot Sora a glare that warned against it, but Sora just couldn't help himself. He knew Roxas would be too happy to hold it against him later, so he grabbed Roxas' shoulders and started pushing him out on the stage. The blonde dug in his heels, but it didn't really do much. Finally, Sora got him to the center of the stage, where Axel took the blonde into his arms to keep him from escaping. As Sora turned to make his escape, his own arm was grabbed and he was pulled back. He looked back at Riku in shock, who smirked at him.

"You're gonna let Roxas stand out here all awkward and embarrassed by himself?" he asked quietly. "I think you should suffer with him." Sora merely shrugged, allowing Riku to wrap his arm around his waist and keep him from leaving the stage.

"How could I suffer with you next to me?" he whispered cheesily, the statement making Riku roll his eyes and shake his head.

"You're such a cheeseball," Riku informed him.

"Riku, Sora, shut the hell up. I'm trying to do my thing here and you're distracting me!" Axel exclaimed, sending them pointed glares. They stopped talking instantly and watched Axel work his magic.

"So, guys, this is Roxas. He's damn cute, isn't he?" The crowd screamed and Axel laughed. "Yeah…I know…but don't get any ideas, he's mine."

"I don't know, Axel," Roxas spoke through clenched teeth. "I might kill you for this."

Axel laughed, dismissing Roxas' words with a wave of his hand. He took a few steps as if nervous before he grinned again and looked at Roxas.

"You know Roxy…we've only known each other since we met at Riku and Sora's wedding…and we've only dated for eight months…but it was definitely the best eight months of my life. I was thinking to myself that I wished my entire life could feel like I do when I'm with you…and I came up with a solution."

Roxas looked at him wearily, as if expecting him to handcuff them together.

"So…I tried to think of the perfect way to present this solution to you in a way where you absolutely couldn't shoot it down and after many hours of thinking, I finally came up with this. The way I figured it, you couldn't possibly shoot me down with all these people watching…besides that I wanted to share this with all the important people in my life…" The crowd screamed long and loud, hooting and hollering.

"Okay, okay!" Axel exclaimed after a minute or so. "I love you guys too, but shut the hell up so I can finish talking to Roxas, will you?" They obediently fell silent and Riku smirked. Sora had to choke back a laugh.

"All right, Roxy. I guess I'll just come out and say it considering I've spent the last five minutes babbling like a moron…"

Roxas nodded, waving a hand for him to get a move on.

"Roxy, will you marry me?"

The place went completely and totally silent for a moment as Roxas' eyes went wide with shock. He nodded dumbly for a moment before throwing his arms around Axel neck and shouting a "Yes!" that rang throughout the entire arena. The cheers erupted as Axel swung Roxas around and kissed him deeply right on the stage. After a moment when they didn't disconnect, Riku cleared his throat and called, "Axel…I'm pretty sure live porn on stage in front of this many minors is illegal…" When the redhead didn't appear to have heard him, Riku stole Demyx's microphone and held Axel's bass by the neck, inching to the edge of the stage. When he was at the very edge, he spoke again.

"Axel…if you don't release Roxas I'm going to have to throw Baby Girl to the audience…" Axel's head snapped up and he turned to glare at Riku.

"You wouldn't dare!" he spat. Riku extended his arm toward the crowd some more, Axel's Bass-aptly named Baby Girl-hanging just over their outstretched hands.

"We have a show to play, Axel. Molest Roxas later, when we can't get sued for it," Riku said. The crowd was just cheering away, having a grand old time.

"All right, okay. Just…put her down gently Riku. She's a fragile girl…" Axel spoke as if he were talking a suicide jumper off the edge.

Sora rolled his eyes and crossed the stage, taking a much-dazed Roxas by the arm and leading him off the stage. Shortly there after, the show started up again and continued on the way it was supposed to.

"So," Sora spoke. "That was interesting, huh?" Roxas nodded numbly. "Congratulations, Rox."

Roxas seemed to snap out of it and he grinned. "Oh my god…I can't believe that just happened. It's like…amazing…like I seriously just can't believe it…I'm getting _married_. I'm _engaged_. To _Axel_."

"Surreal, isn't it? Don't worry, it'll settle in soon," Sora assured his brother, remembering when Riku had proposed to him. He'd been on cloud nine for weeks. Sora threw his arm over his brother's shoulder, pulling him into a half hug.

"I'm really happy for you Roxas."

"Thanks Sora."

Sora was happy at that moment. The real trick would be seeing if he could keep that happiness throughout the night. It all depended on the fate of the silver haired guy on the stage, singing his heart out to the crowd.

--

A/N: So…in case you guys haven't figured it out, we are nearing the end. One more chapter from here…Yeah, so this chapter wasn't really necessary but I thought I should add some happy just to ease poor Sora's mind for a little while.


	14. Back to the Future

A/N: Oh my god, I am such a loser. I was just reading fanfiction (it's called Tease by Paintthesilence and in my humble opinion it is the best fanfiction on this site and if you haven't read it you should right now…) anyway, I was just reading Tease and there's a part where someone goes "Demyx!" and I looked at it for a second and then said it out loud, exclamation point and all and I thought to myself. "Oh my god…I love that name. It's just so much fun to say." And then I said Demyx, like, fifty more times and thought to myself. "If I didn't hate kids so much, I'd totally name my son Demyx." And then I realized that that simple thought made me a complete and total loser. Just thought you ought to know.

Disclaimer: El videojuego de Kingdom Hearts 2 no es mio.

Chapter 13- 20 minutes remaining

Sora let out a small sigh of discontent as he leaned his head back against the couch.

"Is everything okay, Sora?" Roxas asked with a frown. Sora looked at his twin, and nodded.

"Yeah…yeah, I'm fine," he lied. In truth, his stomach was in knots and he was more nervous then he'd ever felt in his life. Any minute now, Riku would come out, slip on his flip-flops, grab a bottle of water from the fridge and ask Sora if he was ready to go.

"Hey Sora…we should hang out some time next week. Just the two of us. We haven't done that in a long time." Sora looked at Roxas and smiled, nodding numbly.

"Yeah, sure thing. Should be fun. What do you have in mind?"

"I don't know," the blonde shrugged. "Maybe catch a movie, get something to eat. Something that will take our minds off being alone for next few months." Sora forced a laugh.

"Yeah…that sounds good."

The door to the bathroom opened and Riku made his way out, slipping on his flip-flops and pulling his hair into a low ponytail at the same time.

"Look, all clean," he said with a grin, leaning down and catching Sora's lips in a kiss that the brunet was hesitant to break, fearing it might just be the very last one he'd ever get. Riku pulled away with a laugh and went to get a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Ready to go home, So?" he asked, extending his hand just as Sora knew he would. He took a deep breath and nodded, taking the hand Riku offered and pulling himself to his feet. His heart was pounding crazily in his chest and it was hard to breathe, almost as if someone had wrapped a rubber band around his lungs and they were being constricted.

"I'll call you sometime next week, okay Roxas? Or you call me, whatever works." He was trying so hard to keep up a semblance of normality and he wasn't sure it was working. As they made their way out the back door, three bodyguards came to stand around them, which made Sora relax just the slightest. Riku, who had inevitably moved his arm around Sora's shoulders, frowned a bit.

"Are you okay? You seem…tense."

"I'm a little…nervous about what Xemnas said earlier. I'm relieved by the extra padding we have," he indicated the bodyguards, "but I'm still really nervous. What if he's crazy enough to try even though we have protection?"

Riku shook his head and kissed Sora's forehead. "It's no big deal, really, So. He won't show up, he's all talk. I promise."

Sora shook his head vehemently. "You can't promise that, Riku. You can't…because how do you know he won't? Something terrible could happen and I could lose you forever."

Riku came to a stop, resting his hands on Sora's shoulders and looking him straight in the eyes.

"Look, So. Nothing is going to happen to me. I would never leave you, okay? You're just spooked by that dream you had the other day…"

"It wasn't a dream!" Sora exclaimed, finally losing it. Riku's eyebrows rose and his eyes flicked over Sora's face, obviously checking to make sure that he wasn't having some sort of panic attack. "It wasn't a dream, Riku. It was real. It was all real. This all happened before…and I lived an entire year without you and it was terrible…but I was sent back! I was sent back so we could finish our year out because you died five days before our anniversary…"

Riku looked really worried now, his hand coming up to rest against Sora's forehead as if checking to see if he was overheated.

"So…are you feeling okay?"

"No! I don't feel okay, Riku, because you might die tonight…"

Riku looked to one of the bodyguards. "Call an ambulance or something, will you? I think he's having a breakdown or he's sick…"

"Riku, I'm not having a breakdown…"

His protest went unheard, though, as the man pulled out his cell phone and began to dial, talking to the operator as Sora protested and Riku tried to shush him.

"Come on, So. Please just go with it. You might not be sick at all…but I'm worried about you. So humor me and take a trip to the hospital to get checked out. Please?" Sora could see that he really had no choice anyway as the bodyguard snapped his phone shut and nodded at Riku to show that the job was done. Sora didn't want to go to the hospital, dammit. He wanted to keep moving. He wanted Riku to get in the car and drive away. He wanted him to live through the night.

"That is very touching Riku, how concerned you are for him." Sora froze as he felt Riku's finger's tighten and dig into his shoulders. He looked behind him, and surely enough Xemnas was there with his hood pulled up, the bandana around his face. Those piercing amber eyes were hard and crazed as they watched the pair, Sora's breathing picking up frantically as he turned in Riku's grip, trying to shield the singer's body with his own.

"I'll treat him well, I promise." Time seemed to slow down as he pulled a gun, severely shocking Sora. It had been a knife the first time. Then again, he must have thought ahead, knowing he wouldn't get close enough to stab him. The gun shot off three times before Xemnas was tackled to the ground by one of the bodyguards. Sora let out a gasp as Riku roughly pushed him to one side, though the biting, screaming pain in his shoulder told him that he was hit anyway. A bodyguard flew over to Riku, grabbing him around the waist and taking him to floor as well.

Sora didn't know what had happened to the two other bullets, but he could see the two other bodyguards, one holding Xemnas to the ground and the other holding the gun in his own grip, pointing it at the tattoo artist to keep him in his place.

Sora crawled over to Riku, who was also on the ground, the bodyguard lying over him protectively. As he came closer, he realized that the guard had taken a bullet straight in the back of the head and was already dead. He choked back a sob, just beginning to realize that tears were streaming down his face. He had to see if Riku was okay. Pushing the body to the side, he could see already the blood covering his husband, gushing up from one point in his chest.

"Riku!" he whispered, ignoring the pain in his shoulder. "Riku, are you okay? Riku…open your eyes, dammit!" The wailing sounds of sirens approached as Sora leaned his face against Riku's shoulder, finally letting the sobs overtake him. He'd failed. He'd had the chance to save him and he failed. He could vaguely hear voices around him as he cried and then hands grabbing him and lifting him up. He wanted to cling to Riku, but he found that he didn't have the strength. He allowed the strangers to handle him as the pain overtook him, numbing his mind and he fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

_"…nine o' clock on a lovely Tuesday morning. It's July 20__th__, 2008. Sunny skies, partly cloudy with a chance of rain later. This next song is…"_

Sora groaned, reaching out a hand and slapping off the alarm clock in mild annoyance. He buried his face back in the pillows and laid there for a good minute and a half before the shock rolled through him. It was…2008. It was his and Riku's anniversary…and it was 2008. He was back. The day he should have woken up…Roxas had taken him out the night before…and Riku was dead again. He blinked, trying to remember if and why he'd set his alarm clock for nine in the morning. He let out a long sigh and pulled the blankets tightly around his body, ready to just lie there and wallow away in self-pity for the rest of his life. It seemed like a really good plan.

His fingertips felt slightly numb. He just couldn't believe that he'd let Riku slip through his fingers like that. He'd been right there, right in his grasp…and now he was dead. Again. Maybe it just wasn't supposed to be. Maybe he was supposed to live out their year and then let it go…but it just didn't seem right. He'd had the opportunity…he'd been willing to protect Riku with his own life…and Riku had pushed him aside. He'd given himself to save Sora…and the brunet was wondering if he was worth it. He knew that Riku was worth it…but was Sora? Was life even worth it anymore? He'd watched his husband die twice and hadn't been able to do a thing about it.

With a newly found determination, he slipped out of bed and made his way toward the bathroom. He stared at himself in the mirror, surprised at how good he looked. He's half expected to find himself gaunt and half dead, but he looked healthy, despite the deep frown set upon his face. He pulled open the mirror and grabbed out a bottle of painkillers that had been there since Riku had broken his collarbone. He looked at the bottle and took a deep breath. He wasn't sure if he could actually go through with taking the whole thing. Could he really…kill himself? He set the bottle on the counter and reached up to close the mirror again, but paused when something caught his eye. He blinked rapidly for a moment before jerking his hand away from the mirror and looking at his wrist.

The black crown outline with Riku's name written on the inside looked just the same as it had when he'd gotten it from Xemnas. The ink was still the same deep black and permanent. He sucked in a breath, a swell of hope building up in his chest. He reached a hand up and pushed his shirt away from his shoulder, letting out a gasp as he looked at the scar from a gunshot wound.

He took a few steps back away from the counter and the pill bottle. How could he have been so stupid? How could he have almost ruined everything? He threw the bathroom door open and ran back into his own room. He ran through that door as well, thundering down the stairs.

"Riku?" he yelled as he ran. "Riku?"

"Sora? Are you all right? What's going on?"

There he was, his Riku looking at him in concern, standing just outside the door to his music room. Sora laughed a tiny bit, aware that he probably sounded manic but not really caring. He launched himself into Riku's arms, hugging him tightly and burying his face in the musician's chest.

"Sora? Is something wrong?" he asked, sounding worried.

"No," Sora answered breathily. "No. Everything is perfect. Absolutely perfect."

"Um…okay. Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm sure. I love you Riku."

"I love you too, So."

"Forever and ever," Sora mumbled, planting a kiss on his chest as Riku's arms came to hold him tightly as well, his chin resting on Sora's head.

The brunet could have stayed like that forever, but as he pulled away, he knew it wasn't necessary. He'd have many years in which to hold on to Riku, because somehow he'd managed to save him. They could now live their whole lives out together, just the way it was supposed to be.

* * *

The pair stood, staring at each other, the brunette grinning triumphantly, the man looking purely shocked.

"So, is there anything you'd like to say to me?" she asked, smiling victoriously. He rubbed a hand through his hair, rolled his eyes, and mumbled incoherently under his breath.

"Wait…what was that? I'm afraid I didn't quite hear you…"

He let out a loud, dramatic sigh and rolled his eyes.

"You were right and I was wrong. They worked things out, Riku's been saved, you didn't get caught, and everything is all hunky-dory. Are you happy now?"

"Extremely," she admitted, letting out a small squeal of excitement, not at all put out by the man's less then enthusiastic attitude.

"I'm not sure if you're psychic or you just have extreme confidence in your bloodline," he sighed.

"It's a little bit of both," she admitted with a shrug. "I knew Sora could do it, he was always persistent, even when he was a little baby!"

He rolled his eyes. "Okay, Aeris, I get it. Your son is a genius. Together, you two could probably break the rules of the universe. Ah, no wait, you already did that, didn't you?"

She scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "He's your son, too, Zack. You'd think you'd have a bit more fatherly pride or something." Zack merely rolled his eyes, shook his head, and wrapped an arm around Aeris' shoulder.

"Come on, babe. Let's go home so you can gush about our son's genius in private."

She let out a small sigh of satisfaction and started home, content with the fact that the world was exactly how it should be.

--

A/N: Yup. So that's the end. Thirteen chapters. How fitting. And coincidental. I'm proud of myself, because I actually managed to give a straightforward, happy ending this time and no one died…unless you count the bodyguard. May he rest in peace. I'm a little upset with myself at the fact that I had yet another gun shot go on in this…check my other multi-chapter fics…they all have gunshots too…ah well. Beggars can't be choosers. Review, if you would.


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